#13: My weekend on "The Canadian"
I recently returned from a two-night train trip across Canada, and it was one of the best I've done. Here's how you can do it too.
Hi there 👋
I’m Jess. This newsletter about the travel business and how to take better vacations.
I recently returned from a two-day trip on The Canadian, the flagship train of Canada’s public rail operator, VIA.
Long-distance trains are an under-appreciated type of vacation. I love settling into my sleeper, leisurely meals in the diner, conversations in the lounge, and staring out the window. It’s obviously better when the train you’re traveling on is comfortable and has good service, and I was super impressed on this trip. The Canadian is unambiguously better than Amtrak.
I’ll tell you a bit more about my trip and how you can arrange your own, but first a bit of background…
Trains in Canada
VIA Rail is Amtrak’s Canadian equivalent. However, there are a few key differences:
The network is smaller - VIA has fewer routes and carries ~10% of the passengers Amtrak carries, which is proportional to Canada’s population.
Frequency is limited - Most routes outside the Quebec-Windsor corridor see 2-3 trains per week. Most Amtrak routes are daily.
The Canadian is special - VIA operates several trains that should be interesting for tourists: three overnight trains and three additional “scenic adventure” routes. But the cross-country service from Toronto to Vancouver, “The Canadian,” has by far the best equipment and service. Those other trains require a bit of sacrifice.
If you can’t tell, VIA gives off an underfunded vibe. Unlike Amtrak, which is procuring a new long-distance fleet, the Canadian government has not allocated funds to replace VIA’s aging sleepers, lounges, and diners. That’s even crazier, since Amtrak’s trains are 2+ decades newer - VIA’s fleet is from the 1950s while Amtrak’s equipment is from the ‘70s and ‘80s. VIA’s available fleet is actually shrinking as cars are retired due to career-ending maintenance issues. To maintain high standards on The Canadian, the secondary touristy trains are losing their lounges and diner cars (boo 👎). VIA estimates that by 2035, the current long-distance fleet will have to be retired.
From a policy perspective, I get why the Canadian government is hesitant to fund a renewal and expansion of VIA’s long-distance fleet. VIA’s subsidy on these scenic and long-distances routes is ~$750/passenger USD1. Amtrak’s equivalent subsidy ~$1202. I can only speculate what drives that huge difference (a sparser population and a higher mix of sleepers vs. economy seats on VIA?). Canada’s prioritization of new short-haul equipment will certainly benefit more Canadians.
But as a traveler, I hope VIA gets a new and expanded long-distance fleet. I’d love to see more of Canada from a high-quality train with sleepers, lounges, and dining cars. And I hope the experience on The Canadian is available for another generation of travelers.
Idle speculation: I wonder if VIA will purchase some retiring Superliners once Amtrak receives their new trains. That might buy VIA a couple of decades.
Anyway, on to my trip…
My experience on The Canadian
I’ll get the train nerd stuff done first. One of my favorite parts of this trip is it’s the last opportunity to ride a 1950s cross-country streamliner. The 1950s was the peak of North American trains. Fueled by a post-war economic and travel boom, railroads upgraded their western trains and added an innovation: the “Vista-Dome.” Check out this advertisement 👇
The experience depicted in that ad is still available on The Canadian. Amtrak gradually replaced their equipment in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Some vintage cars are privately owned in the US or used on short tourist railroads, but VIA is the only chance to ride a vintage 1950s train the real way - on a long-distance route and service consistent with that era. If vintage or old sounds bad, don’t worry. VIA has maintained these trains quite well. The interiors were better than Amtrak’s Superliners, which are decades newer.
Now you don’t just ride a train for the train (or most people don’t 😅). The scenery was lovely. We passed through the rolling hills of Saskatchewan and Alberta on day one. On day two, we traversed the Rocky Mountains west of Jasper. The mountains were certainly more spectacular, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the hypnotic landscape of Alberta.
Other observations from my experience on the train:
There’s a lot of public space onboard, and it makes it easy to move around the train and feel like there are a variety of places to spend time. Our days passed between the observation dome, the park car lounge, the dining car, and our berths for an afternoon nap. There were talks in the dome car about passing scenery and history, but I skipped those. Aside from the diner, there are two public cars with broken up spaces. First, the dome car has the bubble-like observation area with 360 views, a social lounge area, a snack bar, and a table area with games and puzzles. The Park Car, at the end of the train, has another dome, a real cocktail bar, and a social lounge where you can watch the track passing behind the train. It’s way more variety than you’ll get on Amtrak, or almost any train.
It was social. We joined half-way through the journey, and it was clear that many of the passengers knew each other. This is a four-day journey, after all. You’d go crazy if you didn’t talk to each other. We still met people though. Because there are a variety of intimate public spaces, people spend lots of time outside their cabins and naturally talk to each other. Meals were also at 4-seat tables, so we were often seated with strangers whom we quickly befriended.
The food is surprisingly good. The menu is different every day, and there’s a team of chefs onboard cooking real food. It won't win awards, but it was tasty and satisfying. Again, way better than Amtrak.
Tips for bookings your trip
First, book a Sleeper. VIA sells economy seats, but don’t do it. You won’t have access to many of the public cars I mentioned above. Sleeping in a seat is terrible. If you’re on that kind of budget, you’re better off taking a road trip or flying.
Beyond that advice, you have some choices. There are actually four different type of sleeper accommodations.
Open Berths or “Sections” - these are the most affordable sleepers, since they’re open to a central aisle. The major downside: no privacy beyond a heavy curtain at night. I was skeptical, but found them surprisingly comfortable. The aisle was quiet at night, so I wasn't woken up any more than I’d be in a private cabin. There is a public shower and bathroom nearby, which was clean and more spacious than the in-cabin bathrooms. Because there’s so much public space one the train, it’s easy to spend your entire day away from your seat. If you’re on a budget, especially if you’re traveling with a friend, I’d recommend one of these. Book the upper and lower with your friend.
Single Roomette Cabins - these are private cabins that accommodate one person. They technically have a toilet and sink, but it’s part of the cabin (no separate room), so many people in these cabins still use the public bathroom down the hall. If that sounds gross to you, don’t worry. The toilet folds away if you don’t want to use it. If you’re traveling alone and on a budget, these are probably worth it.
Private Bedroom - These are standard train bedrooms, similar to “Bedrooms” on Amtrak. Upper/lower beds convert to a couch in the daytime and having a private bathroom, while small, means you don’t have to trek down the hallway to shower and pee. Great for couples, friends, or a single person who wants a bit more space.
Prestige class - these are the largest (and most expensive) bedrooms. They were gut-renovated in the last decade, so they feel much nicer. Prestige class, as the name implies, also entitles you to some extras - in the summer, the “Park Car”is exclusively yours before 4 PM and the service standards are higher, with dedicated attendants, an espresso bar and hors d'oeuvres throughout the trip. If you have the money, you should obviously spring for it, but Prestige tends to be quite expensive.
Second piece of advice: be ready for the train to be late. VIA uses freight rail track and has lower priority. A few years ago, VIA had such crazy delays - we’re talking 12-24 hours - that they slowed down the train’s schedule. These days, the delays are usually not that bad. But… you should still assume your train will be late. This means:
If you’re boarding at an intermediate station, plan your trip to be resilient to delays. Say you’re scheduled to board at 11 PM, what happens if your train is 5 hours late? Maybe board at a different station (this is why I boarded in Saskatoon, not Edmonton. More on that below).
Do not plan onward travel in the 24 hours after the train arrives. Plan to spend at least one night in your destination. If your train is late, you don’t want to be stressed about making a flight. When I arrived in Vancouver, we spent one night then flew home the next morning.
Enjoy the journey. If you want efficiency, fly. Plan your trip to be resilient to delays by following the tips above, then settle in for a beautiful journey. Who cares if the train is late?
Third tip: consider seasonality:
Summer has long days and the trees have all their leaves (which makes scenery more vibrant, but sometimes makes it hard to see through trees along the track). Most important, April - October is the most crowded and popular time to travel. Access to the park car is restricted
Winter has shorter days (i.e. fewer daylight hours for scenery), snowy scenery, and no crowds so you’ll have the run of the train.
I traveled in late winter to have more sunlight but still catch the snowy scenery.
Lastly, figure out what route you want to take. In my opinion, there are really three options:
The full journey between Toronto and Vancouver. If 4 nights on a train sounds relaxing, do it!
Combining a train trip with a visit of the Canadian Rockies. Jasper is a gateway to the Rockies, but there’s no airport there. You can see the National Park and visit Banff, but you’ll need to rent a car. The train takes one night between Vancouver and Jasper, so you can add a train ride at the beginning or end of your trip (or roundtrip).
Short train trip through the Canadian Rockies. The Canadian Rockies (west of Jasper) are the most scenic part of the trip. Because there’s no airport in Jasper, flying in to meet the train means you’ll have to start/end the short version in Edmonton or Saskatoon.
I traveled from Saskatoon to Vancouver. When I told Canadians about my trip, their first response was “Saskatoon?!?”
Here’s why I chose that route:
I would be on a Westbound train because of how the train schedule lined up with my calendar. The westbound train is scheduled to arrive in Edmonton around 9 PM, but it’s often many hours late. I imagined myself waiting in the station until 5 AM, without a hotel room.
Saskatoon, the station before, also has an airport. The train could be 12 hours late and still not interfere with our sleep. Worst case, we’d have a day to walk around Saskatchewan’s largest city.
I stand by this logic, but our train turned out to be on time. We flew into Saskatoon on a Thursday, and Friday morning we boarded.
I hope you’re able to take this journey too! Email me if you have questions and thanks for reading 😊
How do Long Distance Trains Perform Financially cross-checked with Amtrak’s Dec 2023 Monthly Performance report
After reading your post I sure want to ride this train, wow vintage! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! Such a great detailed review of your train trip in Canada. It is definitely on our bucket list now!