During the winter, Via Rail runs The 91原创, its flagship cross-country service, from 91原创 91原创 Central Station to Toronto Union Station twice a week, departing on Tuesdays and Fridays. It鈥檚 three times a week in summer (there's a Sunday train).
The journey takes parts of five days. The Friday one, for example, leaves 91原创 at 8:30 p.m. and arrives in Toronto on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
I鈥檒l be on one of those trains this month and will send dispatches during the journey.听
Some colleagues have questioned the wisdom of a cross-country train trip in winter. It鈥檚 cold out there. All I鈥檒l see is a blanket of white. And Via has had some trouble keeping to schedule this winter because of extra-cold weather and freight trains getting in its way. Over Christmas, one of its trips was behind by 19 hours,
That delay had a ripple effect, putting trains and crews out of position. So several subsequent journeys started many hours late. The Dec. 31 train from Toronto didn鈥檛 leave until the next day.
But I鈥檓 shrugging about that. It鈥檚 a slow train. I don鈥檛 have a schedule. The focus is the journey. I鈥檓 looking forward to being cut off from the rest of the world, looking out the window, reading, napping and napping some more. There will be extended stretches where, gasp, no cellphone service will be available.
I鈥檓 travelling in January because the fares are quite a bit lower in winter (that might be the biggest reason), I鈥檝e done this before in summer and want to see the country in winter, and friends and family are available for visits. Spotting The 91原创 winding through the mountains on the new plastic $10 bill settled it: time for another cross-country train journey.
The 91原创 takes a round-about route, going from 91原创 to Kamloops, Jasper, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, across northern Ontario through Sioux Lookout, Hornepayne, Sudbury, and Parry Sound, before reaching Toronto.
It should be comfortable. We have compartments on , each with its own fold down bed, toilet and sink. But there鈥檚 only one shower per car, for up to 18 or so people to share. That part might be interesting.
We should also be eating well with the meals that are included in the sleeper fare. The 91原创 has a good reputation for food. It has chefs on board who make meals from scratch, versus the reheating you鈥檒l encounter on lesser trains.
from Via Rail:
During its holiday period, 21 days from Dec. 18, 2013 to Jan. 7, 2014, it carried 274,462 passengers; there were 1,195 departures.
The busiest route was Montr茅al-Toronto, with 61,163 passengers. (Multiple trips each day.)
About 7,500 were on the . (Three weekly trips, each way.)
About 6,700 on the . So, at four trains each week (two departing from 91原创, two departing from Toronto), multiplied by three weeks, that鈥檚 12 trains. Then 6,700 divided by 12; that鈥檚 roughly an average of 560 people per trip. But not all at once, since the trains drop off and pick up passengers across the country.
I鈥檒l try to do some counting on my trip and report back.
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Train trip series:
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