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There isn't much information on VIA's site. This is the description of the refurbishment: "Kitchen reconfiguration and modernization of the dining area." The four being refurbished have left VIA short of dining cars. The two from the Churchill trains have been used on the Canadian this sum...

This amount is essentially for a study on VIA's proposal for a new Montreal-Toronto route. With a federal election coming this autumn, it will be interesting to see what happens. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-strong-private-sector-interest-in-via-rails-planned-expansion-says/ http...

If it's a "forward facing" seat then it will almost assuredly be LRC since few HEP 2's have been converted to 50/50. I had a recent trip on a HEP-2 VIA-1 car. Our seats were 11A and B and marked "forward facing seat". Of course in these un-renovated cars all seats face forward e...

Roomette (or I should say cabin for 1) #8 is an upper duplex roomette and as such is much bigger than the the lower ones. The disadvantage of the upper roomettes is that it has two steep steps to get into it. It can be a bit trickty to lower and raise the bed because there is no cut-away of the bed ...

The usual winter consist of the Canadian for the past few years has been: coach Skyline Manor sleeper (13) (May be in service only Jasper-Vancouver) " (12) " (11) " (10) Skyline Dining car Chateau sleeper (crew) Prestige Chateau sleeper (30) Park car (39) The order of sleepers is reve...

The notice inviting applications for the position of CEO is no longer available - at least from the sites where I saw it. Regarding qualifications there was no mention at all about any experience in transportation. The most important qualification was experience in management.

It should work well on a Friday departure from Edmonton. The Canadian number 3 is the local Edmonton – Vancouver train. It is more likely to depart on time than #1 which comes from Toronto on the other two days a week. Departure from Edmonton is 00:01 with arrival in Jasper at 06:30. Sleepers are ra...

Indeed it would be difficult. The tracks now end just beyond the VIA station. Google maps still show the tracks crossing Riverside Drive. Two or three years ago CN was able to serve an industry on the north (river) side of the street but since then the tracks have been removed. VIA trains would have...

Tim, Is there a way to know whether or not it’s a manor car? All I know is that it’s car 114 and all the cabin for 2 diagrams in the online VIA brochure for the Canadian look identical. And according to the diagram, you’re right, cabin A looks no bigger than the others. But the rep I spoke with see...

Ok, so I decided to upgrade to a cabin for 2 and have a bit more space. I asked the phone rep if they had an F cabin available. He said no but that cabin A is also a larger one. So I booked it in A and after the call I looked at the layout of the cabin. If I’m looking at it correctly, it appears th...

I usually travel with an airline-size carry-on rolling case and one other smaller bag - a "personal" bag as it is often called. There is no problem with a Manor sleeper's cabin for 1 (roomette). The larger bag will fit on the overhead shelf and the smaller one can go under the seat.

Thanks for that info. I guess they're storing the chateau cars for a rainy day or to strip them for parts. I consulted my dusty old Rail Canada Volume 4 - it has the dimensions of all the cars Via had in the early 80s. You can see the measurements on the details below. Manor car bedroom measurement...

No, the Chateau sleepers do not have a double bedroom with extra space. (A friend was told recently by a VIA agent on the phone that room "D" in a Chateau is like "F" in a Manor sleeper. Some diagrams that VIA has published show that, so perhaps the agent had no on-train experien...

Despite the often late-running, the Canadian is a splendid train. This past year's Vancouver - Toronto trip was my 50th anniversary of my first trip on the train. Of course, it was run by the CPR at that time. In the summer season the first sleeper is 210, so your car 212 will be the third if VIA do...

... Metrolinx doesn't own the Kitchener line. The Bramalea - Georgetown (well, west of Georgetown) segment is still owned by CN and is a busy freight corridor for CN. That is why Metrolinx wants to build the "missing link" freight connection to move CN off the Georgetown line and onto the...