Such a fun experience! Super spacious economy seating with leg and foot rests so you can fully extend, dining car has great food options, and the dome is so fun to check out and sit for a while read more

Toronto to Jasper in a luxury room with a private bathroom. Yes it is small but it's on a train. These rooms have card access unlike other rooms. The last four cars are reserved for the prestige passengers. A dining car, two sleeping cars and the Park car, combination bar, sitting car and raised glass top viewing car. Leaving Toronto passing through suburbs and on into the countryside forest which goes on seemingly forever. Most of the time trees are taller than the viewing car. Entering Manitoba you see farmland, again forever. Then it gets good. Maybe an hour out of Jasper beautiful vistas, mountain goats and big horn sheep. This is what we had thought most of the trip would look like. At least we saw it on our last day on Via Rail. The train does continue to Vancouver, through the Rockies, but our train journey ended. Trains have a schedule but for Via Rail several things are beyond their control. Freight has priority so you may have to sit on a side track for 10-30 minutes. Fires north of the track by many miles may cause a safety delay and that's just smart. But the time off the train in most of our small town stops was not as long as first announced because we had to make up time. Not much to do about it, just be aware. While you ride you are served incredible food prepared by chefs in a kitchen the size of a dryer box. Quite a feat if you're asking me. Further, top shelf liquor, wine and Canadian beer are served by the best part of the journey, the crew. Working 18 hour days and doing every task necessary to make your journey memorable. They did not fail in the slightest. Doing this with hindsight we might have skipped the train ride from Toronto to Jasper and flown to Calgary and done bus tours of Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise. Or driven there. Bus tours allow you to take in the scenery instead of watching the road. BUT we made friends on the train. Already contacted some, nothing beats new friends. Trudy, Lou, Clive, Olivia, Joe and Chris. Plus the friends we planned the trip with Jim, Ken and Gina. The prestige level is quite expensive. Too expensive for me to recommend the ride from Toronto to Jasper without some reservations. Via Rail did not fail as much as our expectations were misplaced. read more

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Early one morning on Day 5 of our VIA Train journey from Toronto to Vancouver, we arrived at the Pacific Central Train Station in Vancouver. This trans-Canada train has been on my bucket list for years, and I was happy to have Gayle along for the ride. As she pointed out: "This is Your Trip", even she had to admit that this was quite an adventure. But at the same time, our waiting bed at the Vancouver Hilton sounded really really good. The train was early, so while the Economy folks got off the train, we stayed for breakfast and our last opportunity to enjoy new friend and thank our hard working crew. Our checked baggage was already waiting for us inside and soon a cab appeared to take us to the Hotel. I doubt whether we'll be back on the VIA Canadian train, but I'd recommend this journey to anyone. Reflections on our 4 Day/4 Night Trip - Excellent Food and Coffee - Great staff on the train - Variable schedule largely due to freight train priority. - Comfortable and a bit roomier "F" room Sleeper Plus accommodation. - Our berth had a bathroom and sink. The shower was down the hall. - Nice observation car, especially in the limited availability Park Car. - It's a long journey and we really appreciated the stretch your legs stops. read more

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Oh man ! If they run their trains like their website or app they are in trouble. The most useless site and app ever. We simply gave up and booked a flight in 3 minutes after fucking around in circles on both Via rail site and the app. The app didn't work at all. read more

This is my second time doing the overnight train ride from Vancouver to Jasper. The first time I made the journey was in the 1990s and it was just an economy seat. The scenery was beautiful then as it was Spring and snow was aplenty atop the mountains. This time, I splurged on Sleeper Plus Class which included meals and the panorama car, plus access to the shower room. Unfortunately the Park car was only available after Jasper, as The Canadian was actually the "Vancouver to Toronto" journey. The bed for Sleeper Class would be set up during dinner time, and had the turn down service, with a piece of dark chocolate and towels and toiletries set on it. The bed was comfortable and the two pillows were ok too. The lower berth is considered the better one (also cost more than the upper berth) as there is a window and you do not have to deal with the ladder. I read other reviews about the cabin for 1 and it did not look that great as the bed actually covered the private toilet in the cabin. I am not sure I like the idea of that. The shower room is surprisingly spacious as it has an area for changing. The walkway is narrow so only one person can walk through at any time. I spent most time out at the Skyline car which is also the activity car and has the glass dome to look out at the view. There are board games and newspapers and magazines available here too. What impressed me most was the food. It was fine dining with table service. If Christopher is your chef, you are in for a treat. The food was just so good. This is definitely unlike airplane food, which I somehow keep thinking it is. The trout fillet was simply seasoned but done nicely, with crispy skin and tender meat. The tenderloin also looked good, my dining neighbor said it was delicious. Breakfast was yummy too. I was told the pancakes and waffles were superb though I had the omelet. The staff were friendly, and train travel forced you to talk to other passengers. It was quite an international mix of passengers in our area. There was no wi-fi and reception was spotty. I was also concerned the train would be delayed (though I did not recall that happening 20+ years ago) as most reviews kept emphasizing the long stops and waits, with delays which could be up to 12 hours. Luckily it did not happen to our train. In fact we were ahead of schedule, so the train stopped for about 20-30 minutes before going on to pull into Jasper station. So it was all good. Oh, for sleeper plus, you also have access to the lounges in Vancouver and Toronto train stations. It was nothing special -- just some light refreshment of cookies and tea/coffee. read more

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Would you pay $645 Canadian, total, for two people to travel 500 miles? How about 19 hour overnight journey, with spectacular views of the Canadian rockies, aboard the VIA? We board at 8pm at Vancouver's main railway station, as part of our Colletee's Canadian railway tour. Each of us has an overnight bag, and entered our assigned sleeper car, shared with up to 38 other people -we shared the car, not the bed! The sleeper car compartment for 2 is about 5' x7' with its own sink and toilet behind a closet door -don't want to be that familiar with the wife! Communal shower down the hall. The compartment has two padded chairs, facing backwards, with a large window, and a lockable from inside door -not sure if you can request chairs facing forwards, but would do so the next time I came. We go to the observation car, some 6 cars away, along a winding 18" wide corridor, full of blind corners, and obstacles such as ladders leading to upstairs compartments, while housekeeping opens up our beds in our compartment. Just our luck to be the farthest away from the observation car, of all the people in our tour group, as some people were as close as 3 cars away. When encountering people headed in the opposite direction, one person has to back up to an open space. We return to our compartment, and check out the bunk beds. Wife gets the bottom bunk, as she moves a lot when sleeping. Now you know who wears the pants in the house! Access to the top bunk is through a ladder going straight down, with 9" wide rungs. Whoever uses the toilet at night has to be careful not to stub your toe on the bottom stands of the ladder, when taking that first step outside the toilet door! I go up the ladder with no trouble, and check out the upper bunk. At least 4' of room between the bed and the ceiling, so no bumping your head on the rafters when getting up. Night light, hanger hooks for clothing, and pouch packs for holding a flashlight and paperback book when reading at night. Using the toilet is similar to using the toilet in a bare bones European hotel, somewhat better than an airplane toilet. Plastic bowl, with air suction flushing. Really narrow space, hard to spread your cheeks wide enough, for necessary functions! Stainless steel sink, with three vanity mirrors, two knobs, one cold, one hot, 1950s style. About 18" of room between the lower bunk, and the walls of the toilet door, and sink area. Very difficult for two people to dress or undress simultaneously. The top bunk has just enough room for me to have my elbows touch both sides of the bed. Single mattress, no box spring mattress, so the mattress is hard. Sleeping takes some doing in a moving train, with that clickety clack, let alone while the train toots its horn full blast at all street crossings. I go to bed at 10pm, but don't fall asleep until midnight, waking up for good at 4am. Toughest thing about the top bunk, is climbing down the ladder in the dark, as you can't see your feet, when facing the bed, as the quarters are too narrow. I use one foot on the sink when coming down. Used the commual showers twice. Note that only 1 shower per car, or up to 40 people using one shower. Comparable to a cheap hotel shower, about 2.5' square. Not as bad as campgrounds, as in reality very few people use the shower -you can smell their body odor the next day! Dining car for breakfast and lunch, with about 40 seats per meal session. People eat in pre assigned shifts, as there can be 120 guests using a dining car. Top rate food in quality and appearance, just like in the movies. Again you want to be facing forward when in the dining car. Observation car is a car with stairs leading to the platform. Windows above the ceiling of the other cars, so you can look both forward and to the sides, without obstructions. 24 seats per car, with 20 facing forward, an, 4 facing backward, the last to be filled! Taking pictures from the moving observation car is difficult, due to glare on the windows, mosquito bodies squished on the front windows, and trees photo bombing your shots to the sides! There can be up to 120 people sharing the 24 seats on the observation car. Some touring groups have a good portion of the observation car seats reserved during the trip. You want reserved spots in the observation car? Get a more expensive tour! Lot of local stops leads to the 500 mile journey taking 19 hours, with us arriving at Jasper at 4pm the next day. Freight trains on the same track down slow down our progress. We stagger off the train, and enjoy a hotel stay in a 200 square foot room, compared to the 35 square foot room of our train compartment, smaller than even 8'x6' death row cells! read more

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In order to provide a review of a service, first you need a service to review. With Via Rail, this can be a challenge. To the extent, I'd have to question the sustainability of their business model. Our plan? Travel Via Rail 2-person sleeper cabin on Train #2 from Vancouver to Jasper, spend 5 days in Jasper, and then return to Vancouver to fly home. This followed a wonderful Christmas in Whistler. The trip to Jasper was lovely. Many, many stops on the way - some for several hours - to refuel I guess and to let the priority freight trains by, but we were in no rush and drank in the scenery. Meals were good, very good in fact and service from Bruno our coaches service man was friendly, charming, informative and absolutely professional. The cabin in sleeping format was very tight, but well equipped and the original 1950s coaches have the charm of a bygone, over-engineered era. The suspension systems are exemplary as the ride is super smooth. The ensuite washroom / lavatory is aeroplane style but more cramped, the basin perfectly fit for purpose and the shower down the hallway is hot, and surprisingly spacious. The bunks are more than adequate (I'm 6ft and 240lbs) with good lighting, a handy leather storage "satchel" for watches, water, specs etc and a fan to aid ventilation. The compartment when converted to day travel has the bunks stored and oddly two moveable "deck chair" style arm chairs are provided. I thought this strange but it's great! They're comfortable and can be moved around in the cabin as suites. Our cabin could also opened to the adjoining cabin that occupied our two teenage children, creating a large area for playing cards and chatting. We arrived Jasper about 2 hours late. I thought that was not entirely unreasonable, given it was a 24 hour trip, and Via Rail don't own the tracks and are lower priority to the freight trains, as already mentioned. Our return however, planned as 24 hours of "do nothing" stressless RnR before returning home was another story..... Phoning as required a day in advance to confirm the schedule we were advised the train was running SIX HOURS behind schedule but they hoped to make some of it up. We should call back in the morning. I spent my last night in Jasper (12 hour drive from Vancouver and no coaches the following day) very nervous but optimistic. The phone call the next day was the game changer! It was now ELEVEN HOURS late and was likely to be delayed even further. This meant springing into action. No buses that would meet my flight meant hiring an SUV (roads lots on snow and ice) and drive to Edmonton 4 hours away and take a flight from there to Vancouver and stay a night there. This I arranged. By the time we left Jasper, Via Rails Train # 2 was running SIXTEEN hours late! According to the car hire service person, this was a regular issue and had been for a year or so. This just isn't sustainable. An or two, even four or five, sure - but 12 to 16 hours is not acceptable. Sure, their site and terms suggest not making plans for connection travel the day of scheduled arrival - but, Via Rail, when a foreign tourist disembarks and its -31°C we need to have transport and accomodation. This needs planning. On that basis I could NEVER recommend their service as a mode of transport. Their staff are a joy, the meals great, the cars charming and the scenery jaw-droppingly magnificent. On that basis, I offer 3 stars and I hope that the necessary changes will be made to see this iconic rail service survive. Unless they do, people like myself and the other, more furious customers in the car hire queue would never take the risk of using the service again and certainly could never recommend it. read more

VIA Rail - En route, Vancouver - Jasper - Transportation Near Me

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One word: Awful. First of all, our train was 12 hours late. These delays have been happening since January and happen for every train. VIA openly lies to their customers and informs them the train will arrive at a certain time when in reality it never does. Our train schedule said it would arrive 2pm, but it actually arrived at 3am. The VIA staff kept lying and saying the train would be there soon, but the arrival time kept being changed. This is highly deceptive conduct and VIA has done almost everything in their power to cover up these consistent delays. Since these delays have been happening regularly, VIA should be changing their train arrival times to incorporate delays into their schedule. They have not done this, however, and have continued to release false schedules which do not include delay times. On top of that, the cabins inside the trains are very small and cramped, the decor is very old and the services offered are very basic. The staff were very friendly, but this does not compensate for all the other negatives. This train ride is very expensive and not worth your money. My advice is never ever travel with VIA rail - they are completely unreliable and deceptive. read more

I bought a ticket 2 weeks in advance for a ticket to Edmonton, Alberta. I arrived and checked my bags and wasn't given luggage claim tags, and they didn't label my luggage where it was going. I was told since I had luggage tags labeled bought from the store by Patricia I didn't need any. My luggage was then smashed into another suitcase and damaged. They said there is going to be many bags stacked on your's. When I came back to board at 2pm my bags were brought out all damaged the handle on my new bag bought that morning was all tattered and ripped. The wheel on it was all chipped and cracked. The wheel didn't wheel properly. Patricia gave me my money back in cash and said she sold my ticket for $100 more to someone else. The security guard at Vis a is very abusive to women, and hates them. He told me I am uglier than shit. He got a Chinese police man to harrass me as well. The cop had a police dog waiting to chew my leg off. Women are treated very abusively by Via rail and discriminated against. The security guard yelled have a nice day glad you didn't get where you were going. read more