Take to the tracks with via rail

With sustainability concerns impacting

decision

making,

2023 is shaping up to be the year of the train. Steve Hartridge explores the options with Via Rail

Travelling through Canada’s regions by train is often spectacular and always memorable.

Whether travelling coast to coast, through the eastern and Atlantic provinces or across the prairies and into the towns of the Rocky Mountains, Via Rail, Canada’s national railroad, can take you there – whatever the season.

Winter is a magical time to travel on VIA Rail, particularly between Vancouver and Jasper, with the landscape a blanket of white sparkling snow.

Affordable and sustainable

Letting the train take the strain is also an affordable alternative to a self-drive. Car rental prices are rising fast (due mostly to a global shortage of vehicles) and you get to avoid expensive city parking fees and one-way drop off charges too. Unlike flying, train travel is also a sustainable and eco-friendly option: new Siemens trains that are being added to VIA Rail’s Corridor fleet are around 85% cleaner than their predecessors.

Canada has a rich ‘railway history’ that dates back to June 28 1886 when the Canadian Pacific Railway’s first passenger train left Montréal, arriving in what is now Vancouver six days later. Today VIA Rail travels a similar route between Toronto and Vancouver.

The best-known service is The Canadian. This 4,466 km (2,775 mi) route runs between Toronto and Vancouver, with stops including Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper and Kamloops.

The Ocean

The Ocean links Halifax and Montreal, an approximate 22-hour journey. A ‘sleeper’ option is also available.

VIA Rail packages are available through all major Australian tour operators. viarail.ca

This is a long-haul trip that fully merits the tag “once in a lifetime” – it takes about 86 hours if you go all the way. Passengers can climb the stairs in the train’s glass-domed Skyline cars for great views. They can also dine on the train, chat with other guests in the lounge areas and sleep in their own private cabins.

Travel The Corridor

For those with less time, other Via Rail routes showcase some of the best of what the eastern and Atlantic provinces have to offer.

In what is known as ‘The Corridor’, the train connects Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa, Brockville, Kingston and Québec City. For example, the journey between Toronto and Montréal takes five hours. Along the way passengers are served a meal and, as with most Via Rail trains, charging stations and refilling points for water bottles are available.

Niagara Falls can also be reached by rail: from Toronto you arrive at the famous cataract in less than two hours. From Ontario and Québec you can travel with VIA Rail to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Here, swapping the train for the ferry to Prince Edward Island is an option.