My 74-yr-old mother wants to take the train across Canada (well at least Toronto to Vancouver, one-way, and fly back). I'm willing to accompany her sometime next year but am apprehensive about how she'll cope given her spinal arthritis, glaucoma and insomnia. Of course she would not use her walker on the train, there'll be lots of things to hang onto and she can use a cane. But are the stairs to the dome car steep? Are there tripping hazards all over the place like single hard-to-detect steps and carpet edges? I had thought about our doing a Toronto to Halifax trip as a trial run (just one night) but am I being overly cautious? Just how cramped is the roomette? Are towels supplied? Having just read on this board that the Toronto-Van. trip is being lengthened by one night, I'm even more dubious of just winging it with her as if the trip causes a flare-up of bursitis she'll be miserable for several months. Comments and suggestions to this network newbie welcome. Thanks in advance.
VIA’s staff are very helpful to passengers who have special needs. I and sometimes my wife and son accompanied my mother several times on long-distance trips. The crew couldn’t have been more helpful. She normally booked a roomette and sometimes she was upgraded to a double bedroom, especially when she was recognised by service managers as a “regular customer.” When her medical conditions and mobility worsened I suggested she splurge on a double bedroom because you obviously can’t count on an upgrade. One our last few trips together I always booked mother in the sleeper behind the dining car (line #120 w/b, 220 e/b.)
Roomettes are indeed cramped and the main disadvantage for an older person is the difficulty in accessing the toilet when the bed is down. The toilets in the front area of the sleeper – near the sections (berths) – are a better option, but they are a bit of a hike from the roomettes. A double bedroom for one is pricey, but I think your mother would find it worth the expense. Towels, soap and shampoo are provided to all sleeper passengers on the Canadian and the shower kits are provided to passengers with private showers in their "deluxe room" on the Renaissance trains.
There are hand-rails all over the train, even in the vestibules between cars. The steps to the dome are quite steep. To get through the Park car there are two steps down and two up in the middle of the car (under the dome.) If travelling in winter, walking between the cars can be treacherous. I have frequently helped older people who were terrified of slipping on the often considerable amount of snow and ice that accumulates in this area. The exception is the Renaissance cars on the Montreal-Quebec City run and on the Ocean to Halifax. That’s a good idea to take a test run to Halifax. Although most railfans find nothing positive to say about this equipment, after more than 30 trips (over 20 in sleepers) I find it has many fine qualities. I doubt that anyone could find fault with the diaphragms between the cars. I have gone through several blizzards on this equipment and not a single flake of snow has ever been seen between cars. The sliding doors between the sleepers are usually left open, even in winter. Another advantage of the Renaissance sleepers is the lack of roomettes. Because of this, passengers wanting their own room are surcharged a mere 15% for a double room. The toilet annex in these rooms is bigger than the ones on the Canadian.
I take it you are aware of the senior and companion offer? But there is an even better deal, which is not well-known. VIA will provide free transportation for a passenger’s companion if it is medically necessary and backed up by a doctor’s letter. VIA has tightened up the criteria on which this benefit is offered. The doctor must certify that an escort must provide assistance with one or more of: eating, personal hygiene, or medication. It was a VIA service manager who told me about this and on my mother’s last two trips I travelled free because of it. The escort gets the same class of accommodation as the paying passenger, so when my mother paid for a double bedroom I was given a roomette. For this offer it is not enough that the passenger needs assistance in getting around the train. They have a narrow wheelchair (called the Washington chair) which fits in the corridors. VIA crew will take the passenger to and from the dining car or provide room service.
http://www.viarail.ca/planner/en_plan_beso_acco.html
My advice is go for it! Just plan the trip carefully and advise VIA in advance of your mother’s needs. My mother loved her trips, especially on the Canadian. It was only when she required constant oxygen in her last year that I reluctantly talked her out of these trips. At her funeral, we displayed a large photograph of her smiling broadly while sitting in her bedroom on the Canadian. She was never happier in her final years.