ediemac1

Hi
I've recently retired and am thinking about a trip on the Canadian from Toronto to Vancouver.

I'd probably go solo and was looking at a one person sleeper suite. The Via Rail description describes the sleeping configuration as the bed covering the toilet.

As an over-50 female, this concerns me . Anyone ever traveled in one of these cars?

Is the toilet truly inaccessible if the berth is down? If so, are toilets in the car available?

Also, any other observations ot tips?

Thanks in advance
Edie

HomerJay

Took the Canadian in October from Vancouver to Toronto. Check that one off the bucket list.

My first piece of advice is to damn the price differential and do it in June when the days are longest and you get to see more of the wonders of the True North.
Also, the Canadian prairie in bloom will be much more beautiful than hundreds of miles of flat land that has been harvested and is now barren.

Second, I was surprised at how rough the trackbed is. We rocked and rolled all over the place. There were times in the dining car when the waiters lost their balance and the lights flickered and we began wondering about possibly tipping over.

Third, there's an amazing amount of freight - especially oil cars - heading across Canada, and only a couple of passenger trains a week in each direction. You will spend a good amount of time on sidings, watching endless trains of petroleum passing you by.

There's no internet on the train, and only in station stops in Winnipeg, Edmonton, etc can you catch up on your e-mails. Of course, a big part of the transcon train is to get away from that stuff. Being "out of pocket" is so 20th century, and it takes a little time to get used to it.

All that said, the food is very good. The service is attentive. The scenery is breathtaking....from the lake country north of Toronto to the Canadian Rockies and the high desert of BC...It's something you want to do.

As far as sleeping accommodations, I had a lower berth and it was like something you see in the 1940's movies, with a curtain. The bed was comfortable, and the train rocked you to sleep.

I'm not sure about the single room and the toilet, but I would remind you there's one right down the hall.

For me, the trip was terrific. Flew into YVR, first time there. Fantastic airport, even better city. Loved it and can't wait to go back. Great train trip. Arrived in Toronto only about 2 1/2 hours late. Love Toronto, and loved being able to walk from the train station to Billy Bishop Airport to catch my Porter Air flight back to DC. Everything about the trip was wonderful.

One final piece of advice: VIA Rail doesn't publish on-time reports for the Canadian, and there's no telling how late your train will be. Plan to spend the night in Vancouver before heading back. If your train chugs into the terminal six or seven hours late (or more), you don't want to miss your flight. So spend a couple days doing Vancouver and Victoria.

Bon voyage!

Antonio8069

Great TR!

If you are traveling on a budget, I suggest you log on to the VIA Rail site each Tuesday for discount deals. This time of year, I have seen the sleepers on sale.

Remember that some of these fares don't incl. meals. Alternatively, you can travel in economy and get on and off the train to catch up on Internet, sleep, etc. Many of these cities have Fairmont hotels e.g. Edmonton,Winnipeg, Toronto.

Alternatively - if you really want scenery - go to Jasper and take the train to Prince Rupert.

ajeleonard

I did Edmonton-Vancouver in a single cabin and the bed does indeed block the toilet, although relatively easy to put back up. When I travelled it was lightly booked and so I just used the opposite cabin. Don't recall if there were 'public' toilets in the cabin cars but there defiantly were in the non-cabins cars.

heraclitus

I've been on the Canadian many times and spent many a night in the single bedroom. There are two types of beds, the type that slides into the wall and the more common one which folds up into the wall (Murphy bed style). I find the sliding bed easier to move, although even the one that folds up is not that hard. If that's too onerous there are washrooms a few feet away, and the ones in the sleeping cars are rarely used anyway (coach is a different story).

The advice essentials are covered here. I'd reiterate this one: do NOT plan same day flights on arriving at your final destination. Sometimes the Canadian can be epically delayed. Best to leave a couple of days at the end for sightseeing or whatever and give yourself a good cushion of time. You may even want to consider a stopover along the way at a place like Jasper, Edmonton or Winnipeg. These places are interesting and they break up the trip a bit into smaller, more manageable chunks.

Reindeerflame

The Canadian train also offers so-called "open sections" as sleeping accommodations...these disappeared off of U.S. trains even before Amtrak in 1971. Open sections have an upper and lower berth, available for sale separately, with the upper being the least expensive sleeping accommodation on the train (no window from the upper berth). During the daytime, the beds are up and seats on the floor level face one-another, with a big window. If no one purchases the other accommodation, one person has the whole area to him- or herself. There is a shared shower nearby, and a shared restroom area (typically there are 3 sets of open sections sharing this area). Heavy curtains block off the sleeping area from the corridor, and there's a ladder to the top bunk.

Beyond these less-popular accommodations, there are of course roomettes with fixed doors and toilets/sinks for one person, and bedrooms typically occupied by two persons. More recently, another range of more luxurious accommodations is being offered.

For a one-time trip all the way across Canada, perhaps the roomette might make more sense, but an economy-minded person would be advised to take a look at the lower berth, which still comes with all meals included in the dining car.