Great Way To Explore Canada.
We opted for the VIA Rail to explore and sight-see the western part of Canada. We took ‘The Canadian’ from Vancouver to Jasper and ‘The Skeena’ from Jasper to Prince Rupert. We travelled Economy and had to spend one night sleeping in our comfortable reclining seats since the Vancouver to Jasper section is an overnight journey. For the Jasper to Prince Rupert section the train stops overnight at Prince George, so we had to book a room at Prince George for the night. Though it may sound a very tedious way to travel, most of the travellers on the train seemed to be enjoying the trip.
Our Economy Class seats were very comfortable with lots of leg room. Of course one can also choose to travel in the higher class like Sleeper Plus and Prestige Class by paying a higher fare which also includes buffet meals and drinks served on the train. For the economy class, meals and snacks have to be purchased separately from the train kitchen. Some passengers opted to bring their own packed sandwiches and snacks.
There train staff were friendly and ever helpful. They would also periodically inform us about the route and stations we were passing, as well as the main attractions and points of interest along the way. Wildlife spotting was high on everyone’s agenda and we did spot a couple of bears, some deer and elk along the route. The snow covered mountain peaks and fast flowing rivers always kept our gaze riveted out the large windows during the day. We had access to the Dome Car on The Canadian.
One of the most controversial aspects of this way of travelling was that the VIA Rail trains were given lower priority than the freight trains, and we would have to stop at a siding quite often to let the freight trains pass, sometimes for as long as an hour. But this gave us and opportunity, with the engineer’s permission, to get off the train and stretch our legs and explore the countryside at ground level. As a results the trains, especially the ‘Skeena’ could never stick to their schedules. We had to check in to our Prince George hotel once at 11 pm, and beyond midnight on the return trip.
Surprisingly, our train back to Vancouver arrived more than two hours ahead of schedule, and the engineer apologized to the passengers for being early!
On the whole we quite enjoyed our to and fro rail trip from Vancouver to Prince Rupert through the mighty Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alberta.
Show lessOur Economy Class seats were very comfortable with lots of leg room. Of course one can also choose to travel in the higher class like Sleeper Plus and Prestige Class by paying a higher fare which also includes buffet meals and drinks served on the train. For the economy class, meals and snacks have to be purchased separately from the train kitchen. Some passengers opted to bring their own packed sandwiches and snacks.
There train staff were friendly and ever helpful. They would also periodically inform us about the route and stations we were passing, as well as the main attractions and points of interest along the way. Wildlife spotting was high on everyone’s agenda and we did spot a couple of bears, some deer and elk along the route. The snow covered mountain peaks and fast flowing rivers always kept our gaze riveted out the large windows during the day. We had access to the Dome Car on The Canadian.
One of the most controversial aspects of this way of travelling was that the VIA Rail trains were given lower priority than the freight trains, and we would have to stop at a siding quite often to let the freight trains pass, sometimes for as long as an hour. But this gave us and opportunity, with the engineer’s permission, to get off the train and stretch our legs and explore the countryside at ground level. As a results the trains, especially the ‘Skeena’ could never stick to their schedules. We had to check in to our Prince George hotel once at 11 pm, and beyond midnight on the return trip.
Surprisingly, our train back to Vancouver arrived more than two hours ahead of schedule, and the engineer apologized to the passengers for being early!
On the whole we quite enjoyed our to and fro rail trip from Vancouver to Prince Rupert through the mighty Rocky Mountains of British Columbia and Alberta.
Date of experience: July 2019
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
