Roomettes or bedroom: The next step up from a section is a roomette (described on the VIA Rail websi

Canadian long-distance trains are run by VIA Rail Canada, They're a great way to see the country, whether you travel on the inter-city trains between Toronto, Montréal and Québec, the "Océan" from Montréal to Halifax or Canada's classic travel club international trans-continental train, "The Canadian" from Toronto to Winnipeg, Edmonton, Jasper Vancouver. As well as VIA Rail, there's travel club international the excellent Rocky Mountaineer through the Rockies between Vancouver Banff, Calgary or Jasper.
The greatest train in Canada and one of the world's greatest train journeys, VIA Rail's "Canadian" runs 3 times a week in summer, twice a week in winter, linking Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Jasper Vancouver. The journey takes 4 nights and the train consists of the original 1955-built stainless-steel coaches from the Canadian Pacific Railway's "Canadian". You can travel very affordably in 'Economy class' in a reclining seat, or in 'Sleeper Plus class' (formerly 'Silver and Blue' class) travel club international with a private sleeping-car room and restaurant car meals included. The journey originally took 3 nights, but in December 2008 VIA Rail changed the timetable to show their passengers more of the Rockies in daylight. Note that today's 'Canadian' takes the more northerly Canadian National Railway (CN) route across Canada via Edmonton and Jasper, opened in 1917. The original 1955 'Canadian' was operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway and would have taken the CPR's own more southerly route across Canada via Calgary and Banff, opened in 1885 as Canada's first trans-continental railway and arguably the more scenic of these two competing routes. If you want to experience the original 1885 Canadian Pacific travel club international route today, you can only do so between Calgary and Vancouver, and only on the the Rocky Mountaineer tourist train. You'll find a brief overview of the history of the CN and CP routes across Canada here .
Yes, of course you can, but every leg of your journey requires a reservation for a specific train date. You cannot buy an 'open' ticket and hop on off trains spontaneously without a reservation. But it's easy to pre-book stopovers, as www.viarail.ca has a 'multi-city' option which allows you to specify a Toronto-Vancouver journey with one or more stopovers at places along the way, such as Winnipeg travel club international or Jasper (for Jasper national park). Booking your trip using this 'multi-city' feature is cheaper than buying a separate ticket for each leg.
In Economy Class (formerly Comfort Class) you have a comfortable reclining seat and access travel club international to the Economy Class 'Skyline' car with coffee shop, lounge and 'vista dome'. Sleeping in a seat may not be as comfortable as having a proper sleeper, but the seats recline to about 40 degrees, have loads of legroom and adjustable leg rests. An Economy class seat costs a fraction of the price of a Sleeper Plus class sleeper, and with a coffee shop, lounge area and observation dome, the facilities in Economy class are still excellent. It's an experience streets ahead of a mere flight, and infinitely more comfortable than bus travel.
This is the luxury option. Formerly known as Silver Blue class (and then briefly Sleeper Touring Class, I expect they'll rename travel club international it again next week!), in Sleeper Plus class you have your own private 2-berth bedroom or 1-berth roomette or 'section' with comfortable beds, the fare includes all meals in the elegant Sleeper Plus class restaurant car, and you can use the famous 'Park' observation-lounge car at the rear of the train. The 'Park' car, 18 of which were built and all named after Canadian parks, features a classic north American 'vista dome' upstairs, the bullet travel club international lounge at the rear (complimentary tea and coffee always available) and the mural lounge downstairs underneath the dome. There are several different types of sleeper, all with hot showers at the end of the corridor:
Sections: travel club international Described on the VIA Rail website as 'upper berth' and 'lower berth' but more correctly and traditionally called 'sections', these are the cheapest type of sleeper. Sections are not enclosed compartments, but open-plan seats arranged in pairs facing each other each side of the aisle. Note that the person with the slightly more expensive lower berth gets the seat facing forward during the day. At night, travel club international the two seats pull together and bedding is placed on them to form the lower berth, and an upper berth folds out from the wall. Curtains are fitted to each bunk for privacy. If you've seen Marilyn Monroe in 'Some Like it Hot', then you'll have seen 'sections' - the girl band travels from Chicago to Florida in a sleeping-car travel club international with sections. Bring your own Marilyn...
Roomettes or bedroom: The next step up from a section travel club international is a roomette (described on the VIA Rail website as a 'cabin travel club international for 1') or bedroom (described on the VIA Rail website as a 'cabin for 2'). These are enclosed, lockable travel club international compartments. If you are travelling alone, you will travel in a roomette. This is a very compact single room, just big enough for a large seat with plenty of legroom, and a leg-rest with a toilet bowl hidden underneath. There is a washbasin in the corner. At night, a bed folds down from behind the seat, taking up almost all of the roomette. Bedrooms are larger rooms for two people, with separate en suite washroom and toilet. An upper and lower berth convert travel club international to seats for daytime use. Bedrooms are the same price per person as a roomette.
A roomette, perhaps the cosiest room for one person on the rails! Just big enough for one armchair by day with toilet shown here with padded lid closed, washbasin and fold out table. The bed is stored behind the seat, on its end (in the middle picture you can see the handle to lower the bed). At night, the bed folds down and takes up most of the compartment - you need to raise it to use the toilet!
There were (and are) two competing trans-continental rail routes across Canada. The Canadian Pacific Railway opened the first trans-continental line across travel club international Canada in 1885, running from Montreal/Toronto to Vancouver via Winnipeg, Calgary and Banff. Instead of taking the easiest route through the Rockies travel club international via the Yellowhead pass, political tension with the United States led them to take a more difficult (and scenic) southerly travel club international route through the Kicking Horse pass. The second and later line, built around 1917 by the Canadian Northern Railway (nationalised travel club international in 1921 as Canadian National Railways or 'CN', as in the CN Tower), runs from Montreal/Toronto to Vancouver to the north of the CPR route, via Winnipeg, Edmonton, Jasper and the easier Yellowhead pass.
VIA Rail was formed in 1978 as a government corporation to take over the passenger trains from these two private companies, which now only run freight trains. Initially, VIA Rail continued to run both the Canadian Pacific's 'Canadian' and the Canadian National's 'Super-Continental' daily on each of these two trans-continental routes, with the rolling stock getting progressively older and less reliable. However, in 1990, this was reduced to one train, the present-day 'Canadian', running from Toronto to Vancouver 3 times a week via the Canadian National route through Winnipeg, travel club international Edmonton and Jasper. VIA Rail lacked the funds to buy new cars, so they completely rebuilt and upgraded the original stainless steel 'streamliner' coaches built in 1955 for the Canadian Pacific's 'Canadian', making this train a real classic in its own right as well as transportation from A to B, albeit from a historical perspective running on the 'wrong' travel club international company's route. There are now no regular passenger services on the original 1885 Canadian Pacific route from Toronto to Vancouver through Calgary or Banff, apart from the excellent Rocky Mountaineer which runs between Calgary, Banff Vancouver, 3 times a week April-October.
If you're going to Vancouver, don't miss a trip to the British Columbia provincial capital, Victoria, on Vancouver Island. Regular buses link Vancouver with Victoria in about 3 hours, going on board a ferry to reach the Island.
Two excellent trains link New York with Montreal Toronto every day, with inexpensive fares, comfortable reclining seats, a café car great scenery along the Hudson River Valley, a day well spent, highly recommended. They are run by Amtrak, jointly with VIA Rail in the case of the train to Toronto. travel club international The New York-Toronto train is the 'Maple Leaf' with coach class business class. The New York-Montreal train is the 'Adirondack', with coach class. Both trains have comfortable air-conditioned reclining seats and a café car accepting US$ but not Can$. Both trains travel right along the scenic Hudson River valley all the way from New York to Albany, with superb views of the river, including West Point Military Academy, Bannerman's Island and Storm King Mountain. As its name suggests, the Montreal train also heads through the scenic Adirondack Mountains. Passports are checked at the US/Canadian border, there is no check-in as such in New York, Toronto or Montreal, you just need to arrive at the station in time to collect travel club international your tickets and board the train.
Both the 'Maple Leaf' 'Adirondack' head out of New York's Penn Station towards Albany travel club international along the scenic Hudson River Valley, with the rails often right next to the river. travel club international Look out for West Point Military Academy on the far bank, Storm King Mountain (pictured above left) and Bannerman's Island. Enjoy breakfast from the cafe car, then in the afternoon perhaps a half-bottle of wine or 'Sam Adams' Boston beer. At Albany, the train swings west and crosses the Hudson river with great views of the State Capitol from the bridge. On the train to Montreal, you'll also pass through the highly-scenic travel club international Adirondack mountains; On the 'Maple Leaf' to Toronto, you'll call at Niagara Falls, and although you can't see them from the train, why not stop off there for 24 hours en route? Either way, relax, forget about airport travel club international airline hassle and simply enjoy the journey! The best views are on the left-hand travel club international side of the train heading north from New York, right-hand side heading south