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- Canada Train Vacation Services on the Rocky Mountaineer
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- Via Rail Travel in the Canadian Rockies
Via Rail Travel in the Canadian Rockies
Via Rail Canada is a great vacation option for anyone looking for the excitement of a Canadian train vacation without the expenses of the Rocky Mountaineer Train or Royal Canadian Pacific rail services. Via Rail uses nearly 500 passenger trains that travel through 8 of Canada's 13 provinces. The train service has been operating in its current rail form since 1978 when Via Rail broke away from Canadian National Railways to form its own Crown Corporation.
The first few years of railway operation were somewhat rocky. Passenger counts on Via Rail's initial, 150 weekly Canadian train trips climbed during the late '70s. Still, funding became an ever-present issue for the rail company, and 40 percent of its operations were cut in 1981.
In 1985, Canada's government revived the Super Continental and the Atlantic, two defunct railway routes from Via Rail's railroad past. Funding from Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's cabinet also made it possible for the service to update its railway cars and buy new, reliable locomotives.
Over the next few years, inflation, changes in the Canadian government and other factors led to a series of ups and downs for Via Rail. The trans Canadian railway continues to run and improve its rail services today thanks to funding from the Canadian government.
Via Rail Canada Service Classes
Much like your favorite airline, Via Rail offers several levels of railway service:
- Comfort Class (Via Rail's most economically friendly choice) allows railway passengers to choose their own seats, access a pay-per-use WiFi service and purchase snacks and beverages.
- Via 1 class service features roomy, assigned seating on the train, complimentary 3 course meals and instant boarding privileges, while you travel across Canada.
- Comfort Sleeper service is intended for late night train travelers. Passengers stay in a single, double or triple bedroom suite and have access to a private washroom.
Comfort and service aside, travel across Canada on the Via Rail train has one other significant benefit. Train travel in North America is much safer than car travel. In fact, automobile accidents usually make up 50 percent of annual travel fatalities (train fatalities generally contribute less than 2%). Railways are also safer than air travel, depending on how you look at the somewhat confusing and easily skewed data.
Via Rail's trains stretch across Canada from Prince Rupert, British Columbia to Halifax, Nova Scotia and feature plenty of stops in between. Canadian Train Vacations offers fantastic rail tours and vacation packages of the Canadian Rockies on the Via Rail train line.
Let us help you book a memorable Canadian train tour today. We offer many different vacation packages that feature train rides on Via Rail Canada, the Rocky Mountaineer Train and Royal Canadian Train for your exciting vacation through the Canadian Rockies and elsewhere in Canada.