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Is it, similarly to the US, probably because the car or plane took over its role? People talk about how the US is unlikely to have high speed rail because of the car culture and because of competition with airlines.
For a country that was opened up, settled and built with the railway, Canada doesn't have that much passenger rail service these days.
We have three overnight trains at the moment.
The most famous is the "Canadian" which runs from Toronto to Vancouver via northern Ontario, the Prairies and the Rocky Mountains. This legendary train journey takes 87 hours.
The other major overnight train is called the "Ocean". It runs from Montreal through Quebec and New Brunswick and then to Halifax in Nova Scotia.
There is also an overnight train that runs in Manitoba from the city of Winnipeg to the town of Churchill on Hudson Bay.
None of these are international.
Ive ridden the Canadian a few times, and the Ocean once.
The Ocean was interesting. People really did use it to get places. We left Montreal with a full load of passengers, and only about half the passengers were left by the time we got to Halifax. They got off in various places: Campbellton, Rogersville, and Truro, for example. A few got on, too, and went to Halifax.
The Canadian was fun. Last time I rode it, I went from Toronto to Edmonton. Leaving Toronto, it seemed that most of my fellow passengers were British tourists on an escorted tour of some sort, with some American train enthusiasts thrown into the mix. But once we hit Winnipeg, Canadians started using it as a means to get places: Brandon, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver. There would undoubtedly be more on the pre-Winnipeg leg if the train route went through Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie.
But there are no international sleeper services from Canada. There was a time when trains left Toronto for New York and Chicago, from Montreal to New York, from Vancouver to Seattle, and from Calgary to Great Falls, MT; but none of those would have involved sleeper service.
Ive ridden the Canadian a few times, and the Ocean once.
The Ocean was interesting. People really did use it to get places. We left Montreal with a full load of passengers, and only about half the passengers were left by the time we got to Halifax. They got off in various places: Campbellton, Rogersville, and Truro, for example. A few got on, too, and went to Halifax.
The Canadian was fun. Last time I rode it, I went from Toronto to Edmonton. Leaving Toronto, it seemed that most of my fellow passengers were British tourists on an escorted tour of some sort, with some American train enthusiasts thrown into the mix. But once we hit Winnipeg, Canadians started using it as a means to get places: Brandon, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Vancouver. There would undoubtedly be more on the pre-Winnipeg leg if the train route went through Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie.
But there are no international sleeper services from Canada. There was a time when trains left Toronto for New York and Chicago, from Montreal to New York, from Vancouver to Seattle, and from Calgary to Great Falls, MT; but none of those would have involved sleeper service.
I think some on that last list still exist, though none of them are overnight. Montreal-NYC and Vancouver-Seattle still exist for sure, and I am pretty sure about Toronto-NYC too.
I think some on that last list still exist, though none of them are overnight. Montreal-NYC and Vancouver-Seattle still exist for sure, and I am pretty sure about Toronto-NYC too.
I believe there is a train once a day between NYC and Toronto in both directions.
Seat61 site is one of the best sites I ve ever come across in my travel planning.
It has everything. Really you should not go unless you have checked the site and its multiple combinations of trains and cities.
Seat61 site is one of the best sites I ve ever come across in my travel planning.
It has everything. Really you should not go unless you have checked the site and its multiple combinations of trains and cities.
Kudos to you Mark (founder of the site)!
I agree - a very good site.
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