Your plan for the 2015-2016 holidays. Traveling by train?

I'm guessing that many of us will have a few extra days off during the holidays. It's my case (working only 24 hours during the christmas week and only 32 during the new year week, when I usually work 40)

I have a train planned (and paid off) but the trip will only start at the begining of Janurary 2nd. I'm taking 3 trains over the span of 8 days.

-Janurary 2nd, me and my girlfriend are making a 1-night trip to Montreal, our first trip to Montreal since June 2012 (though we did pass through Montreal while heading to Ottawa in may 2013)

-Janurary 3rd, my girlfriend is going to leave half an hour earlier than me (and at the same time take her first train trip alone) and go back to Quebec (as she cannot take a 1 week vacation). I will take the Ocean, and do the whole thing.

-Janurary 8th in the morning, I will be in Charlottetown (PEI) and head toward Amherst by bus, where I will spend roughly 4 hours before taking the train back to Ste-Foy.

What about you? Taking the train during the holidays (not counting business trips)?

Sounds like you'll be having a good time!

I'm always travelling by train around the holidays, as I live in Halifax and my family is all back in Ontario (Ottawa). I never even consider travelling up there by any other means at this time of year. I'll be taking the Ocean next Sunday and connecting through to Ottawa (VIA 59 - a late connection so I can spend the day visiting in Montreal). I'll be working in a bit of extra travel this year because I'll be heading to Brantford for another family engagement, so leaving on Boxing Day from Ottawa through to Toronto on VIA 641. Unfortunately the connecting train I needed to Brantford sold out before I could book it, so I'll instead be taking a GO Train on the Lakeshore West line out to Aldershot, and having someone pick me up there. I've only ever ridden GO on the Lakeshore East line (Oshawa to Toronto), so looking forward to something new!

I'll then be heading back from Brantford to Montreal on VIA 70 and 64, and then on the Ocean through to Halifax on the 29th. As many of you probably know, VIA is running extra departures of the Ocean over the holidays again, and 2 trips in each direction will be equipped with stainless-steel HEP1 equipment. Unfortunately I couldn't ride that for the westbound trip, but the eastbound trip on the 29th will be all stainless-steel beautiful Budds

So that will be a total of 7 trains (technically, even though VIA 70 and 64 are the same equipment), 6 VIA and 1 GO, over a 10 day period. Not too shabby

Nope, because while VIA is announcing new branch line service from Podunk NB to Smallsville NS, we in Canada's third largest metropolis still only see a two-day-a-week landcruise that is also among North America's slowest intercity trains.

I realize that there's not many places to go in British Columbia, but if you're going to be opening up new corridors in the Maritimes could you at least chip in for service to Seattle?

bdawe wrote:Nope, because while VIA is announcing new branch line service from Podunk NB to Smallsville NS, we in Canada's third largest metropolis still only see a two-day-a-week landcruise that is also among North America's slowest intercity trains.

I realize that there's not many places to go in British Columbia, but if you're going to be opening up new corridors in the Maritimes could you at least chip in for service to Seattle?

Province of BC does chip in for Cascades service...

Since When?

And, beyond constructing a siding one time, In eastern Canada intercity services are Federally funded

bdawe wrote:Since When?

And, beyond constructing a siding one time, In eastern Canada intercity services are Federally funded

Me to ! Since when did B.C. start chipping in???

Err, I should not type early the morning...

What I meant to say is that BC *might* chip in...as I understand, if actually the PNW Corrdior actually gets built, BC would provide funding for its share.

Just got on the train from Amherst. I found it hilarious that, because I was apparently the ONLY one who got on the train at Amherst, the VIA Rail employee just confirmed my name, rather than request I show him my ticket XD.