Discussions

I'm traveling by train for the first time! Any helpful tips and hints?

It will be late. Don't make plans in your destination within six hours of your scheduled arrival that you can't break. Call the VIA Rail call centre repeatedly the day of your departure to determine whether it is running on time. Otherwise you might be waiting in Rivers for 6 hours. If you know a CN employee, they might be able to give you a more accurate ETA than the VIA call centre can.  
 
Eat in the first class dining car if you can. It is delicious.  
 
Talk to people. There are people from all over the world on the train.  
 
I love taking the train. Have fun!

VIA Rail has a website that gives pretty much realtime location and times of arrivals. It doesn't give map views of VIA 1 & 2, The Canadian.  
 
https://tsimobile.viarail.ca/  
 
These delays are due to VIA Rail not having priority status on CN and CP tracks. They have to give way to freight traffic, so you will spend time stopped in sidings waiting for freight trains to pass.

Not sure if you have already thought of this, but if you are prone to car-sickness/motion-sickness, some Gravol or other anit-nauseant product might be a good idea. Just until you get used to how the train moves.  
 
I haven't taken a VIA rail train in many years (I think it was in 2003...), but I really enjoyed going to the viewing cars that had "skylight" type roofs to them, where you could look out at the stars at night.

acidbasement said "It will be late. Don't make plans in your destination within six hours of your scheduled arrival that you can't break. Call the VIA Rail call centre repeatedly the day of your departure to determine whether it is running on time. Otherwise you might be waiting in Rivers for 6 hours. If you know a CN employee, they might be able to give you a more accurate ETA than the VIA call centre can.     Eat in the first class dining car if you can. It is delicious.     Talk to people. There are people from all over the world on the train.     I love taking the train. Have fun! "

Don't fall for the schedule. Tell us more details about your travels.

We're going to Prince George so it's a 2 day trip and going economy! Thoughts?

AMiller said "We're going to Prince George so it's a 2 day trip and going economy! Thoughts? "

We went to Edmonton a couple of years ago and loved it. Wished we had taken a Pillow and Blanket for economy because they had the air conditioning running all night and we had to sleep with jackets on to keep warm.  
The other thing, depending how deep a sleeper you are.. Our car was very close behind the Engine and every time we hit a train/Auto crossing they blew the horn and was fairly loud..(Lots of crossing between here and destination).. Over all Very enjoyable.

Trevor B said "VIA Rail has a website that gives pretty much realtime location and times of arrivals. It doesn't give map views of VIA 1 & 2, The Canadian.     https://tsimobile.viarail.ca/     These delays are due to VIA Rail not having priority status on CN and CP tracks. They have to give way to freight traffic, so you will spend time stopped in sidings waiting for freight trains to pass. "

Don't go blaming CP. Before privatization of CN, the Federal Government stopped running VIA on CP track wherever possible. That, unfortunately, took away some great scenic routes for the Canadian, like around Lake Superior in NW Ontario.

My experience from January, and it was balmy weather, Saskatoon to Rivers was that we left about 3 hrs late (although I got good updates on that via my cell) and got to Rivers 7 hours later than originaly scheduled. Apparently this is considered "normal" and to be expected. Rail is luxury travel clock wise. It was clean, smooth, temperature constant, quiet, spacious and snacks were rea$onable for sure. Cheap too. Plugin for electronics was at the seat too. Have a great time!

I last road the train in August 2011 from San Francisco to Vancouver. I wanted to ride train from Vancouver to Rivers.  
 
When I looked on the schedule and there was no Rivers stop mentioned. When did the train start going to Rivers again? I ended up riding the bus all the way back to Brandon.  
 
The train is a blast and I love it. Sit in the car with the skylight. I would say barcar but I don''t drink. You''ll meet people from all over.  
 
Edited by ichimung, 2017-06-01 19:35:32

Rivers is just a station stop (the station is under construction) You probably have to specifically request it - same as you request a stop in the north via grid quadrants.

Blanket/eye mask/ear plugs for sure. Usually they have hot water for free - so bring soup/tea/ect as they don't provide that. Meals are okay - but it's a small rotation. Get a VIA RAIL Privilege card - you get points that can be redemed for free travel. VIA is a fun way to travel.

I did Winnipeg to Edmonton a few years ago and had lots of fun! Met new people, enjoyed the food, found it relaxing to watch the scenery without driving.  
 
Bring a laptop or ipad and headphones to watch movies, there are charging stations at each seat if I remember right. I agree with the pillow and blanket. I'd also suggest ear plugs and an eye mask for sleeping. I found it hard to sleep because I didn't bring those and I'm a light sleeper who likes it dark and quiet which it isn't very dark or quiet haha. All around it was a good unique experience!

Thanks for all the tips!