For The Olympian
Dramatic scenery such as this is part of the attraction of rail travel in Canada. New views, often better than the last, await around every bend.

For The Olympian
The snow-capped Canadian Rockies, flanked by lush evergreen forests, provide dynamic vistas for rail passengers. Trip options range from two to 11 days.

Spectacular Canadian scenery awaits

THE OLYMPIAN

The options for exploring British Columbia, Alberta and the rest of Canada by rail are as varied as the spectacular scenery you'll see there.

BC Rail

Based in Vancouver, B.C., the appropriately named BC Rail Co. traces its history back to 1912, when it was still known as the Pacific Great Eastern Railway. Today, more than three-quarters of a century later, BC Rail offers everything from thoroughly modern "cruise train" trips of up to six days to dinner train runs that are less than four hours. Here are some examples:

-Whistler Northwind is BC Rail's newest train, providing service from Vancouver to world-renowned Whistler Resort and on to Prince George. You can view the spectacular scenery from specially designed dome cars by day and spend the night in memorable accommodations.

-Cariboo Prospector offers a taste of history with the Barkerville Gold Rush Tour, a four-day, three-night trip that follows the Great Cariboo Gold Rush Trail of the 1860s. With escorted tours of the historic towns of Barkerville and Wells -- and an opportunity to try your hand at panning for gold just as the early prospectors did -- this is a trip that allows adults and children alike the opportunity to transport back to a time when stagecoach and rail travel were the way to go in North America. BC Rail also offers several other tour packages. Some examples:

-Train Triangle to the Rockies takes you on a four-day, three-night trip from Vancouver to Jasper.

After boarding in Vancouver, passengers feast their eyes on the magnificent Coastal Mountains and Fraser Canyon before continuing to Jasper, where they spend the night in a resort before pressing on through the Rockies and ultimately back to Vancouver.

-The Pacific Coast Circle tour takes you from Vancouver to Prince Rupert via train and back by plane.

-Pacific Peaks and Panoramas is a six-day, five-night tour to Prince Rupert by train and back to Vancouver via BC Ferries through the Inside Passage and motor coach.

Want to wind up in Seattle instead? BC Rail can get Puget Sound residents almost all the way home via either the Victoria Clipper catamaran or a helijet from Victoria right into Boeing Field.

As if those weren't enough choices, you can also take a BC Rail trip that includes overnight land accommodations and featuring everything from roping and riding on a working guest ranch to spa and golf packages.

In addition to its intercity trains and tours, BC Rail offers shorter rail excursions in the Vancouver area for those who seek the romance of the rails but don't have much time.

-The Pacific Starlight Dinner Train offers Vancouver visitors a rail experience that features fine dining, romance and intrigue.

The train offers breathtaking sunset views of Howe Sound during the trip from North Vancouver to Porteau Cove, where it stops for 45 minutes to let passengers get off, enjoy the view, dance to a swing band and visit the gift shop before returning to Vancouver. The entire trip lasts about four hours.

The Starlight features beautifully restored vintage dining and dome cars that once graced such famous trains as the Santa Fe Super Chief, Milwaukee Road Hiawathas and the California Zephyr, operated jointly by the Western Pacific, Rio Grande and Burlington railroads.

Passengers dine on award-winning cuisine featuring beef, seafood, lamb and chicken.

Some trips feature the intrigue of an on-board murder mystery for passengers to help solve.

-The Royal Hudson Steam Excursion offers two-hour daylight trips along Howe Sound to Squamish. After a two-hour layover, the train returns to North Vancouver.

This summer, the train will be pulled by steam Locomotive 3716, one of the oldest operating steam engines in North America. It was built in 1912 for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Rocky Mountaineer Railtours

Two levels of service are offered to passengers of Rocky Mountaineer Railtours, a privately owned company based in Vancouver. Two-day trips to either Banff/Calgary or Jasper are offered in either Red Leaf service or the more luxurious Gold Leaf service, which offers guests a two-level car including a separate dining floor.

Immensely popular with international visitors as a way to view the Canadian Rockies, attendants on board Rocky Mountaineer Railtours can converse in French, German, Japanese and Mandarin in addition to English, bringing a decidedly international flavor to the trips that range from 48 hours to 11 days.

Since Rocky Mountaineer Railtours specializes in daylight tours (meaning that you don't travel at night and miss any scenery) and operates without sleeping cars, guests choose from a variety of tour options that include overnight hotel accommodations in such locales as Lake Louise, Banff, Jasper, Calgary and Prince George. One example:

-Pacific Northwest & The Canadian Rockies tour lets passengers begin from Seattle, taking the Victoria Clipper north to Victoria and board the tour train in Vancouver. The 10-day tour allows guests to choose from two levels of onboard service and two levels of hotel accommodations.

Via Rail Canada

Another option for exploring Canada by rail is Via Rail Canada. Like Amtrak in the United States, Via Rail offers all levels of passenger service throughout the country and accommodates business corridor travel as well as those who want to see the country without driving.

-The Canadian is Via's premier train, providing transcontinental service between Vancouver and Toronto. It is widely regarded by rail travel fans as offering one of the best train trips in the world, with spectacular scenery and fine service.

Passengers travel in carefully restored, art deco-style cars built in the 1950s. The three-day trip takes them through the spectacular Rocky Mountains and across the prairie, with major stops in Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Jasper and Edmonton.

Travelers who choose the Canadian's deluxe Silver and Blue service get a private bedroom with shower nearby, access to the Skyline observation domes and a lounge car, and all their meals.

Typical menu offerings include filet mignon, trout, pork tenderloin, shrimp and scallops.

Via Rail also offers special packages and discounted rail passes that can make it the perfect choice if you want to get on and off its trains at will or explore on a more limited budget.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

back to main Discover index