Train travel in Canada

Rail travel across the planet’s second largest country includes surprising, inspiring destinations. Pass peaks and prairies, spot elk, savour gourmet cuisine in the dining car, and relax to the rhythm of the rails. Ride the train to ski, see polar bears, relive gold-rush history, or just to travel in the style of a more leisurely era. Let Canada unfold before you outside the picture windows. 

Daydream as you roll past turquoise glacial lakes or through forests blazing with fall foliage. See streams and canyons no automobiles can reach. Pause and wonder how humans ever built train tracks across the Rocky Mountains as you roll along them. In urban Ontario and Quebec, take advantage of rail travel to escape the crowded airports and busy highways. On a train journey, you know “getting there” is part of the experience. 

Here are some key rail experiences across Canada.

Alberta

 

• Let the train transport you to the ski slopes and hiking trails of Jasper in style - from either Edmonton or Vancouver.
• Enjoy the roller-coaster train at West Edmonton Mall during a VIA Rail layover in Alberta's capital city.
• Feel the luxury of yesteryear on a Royal Canadian Pacific Tour from Calgary, through the Rockies to the coast and back.

British Columbia

 

• Go from sea to sky - Vancouver to Whistler - in luxury aboard the Rocky Mountaineer Whistler service.
• Get a window seat for the ride through Fraser Canyon on VIA Rail or Rocky Mountaineer.
• Explore western Canada's rich railroad history at the Revelstoke Railway Museum.

Manitoba

 

• Spend a few days in Winnipeg, a vibrant prairie city that exists largely because of railroad history on a cross-Canada journey.
• Feel the railway's connection to the Prairies.
• Take the train to Churchill to see polar bears, near Hudson Bay.

New Brunswick

 

• Travel into this fascinating and Canada's only officially bilingual (French & English) province onboard the train; there is frequent service from Quebec.
• Learn about local culture with a VIA Rail onboard interpreter on select, seasonal trains in Sleeper Plus Class.

Ontario

 

• Take advantage of rail transportation between Toronto and many Ontario cities and towns, including Ottawa, historic Fort Henry near Kingston, or the Stratford Shakespeare Festival
• The train is an excellent way to travel between Canada's two largest cities: Toronto in Ontario, and Montréal in Quebec.
• Stay a few nights in a historic railway hotel: the Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa or Toronto's Fairmont Royal York.

Quebec

 

• Take a train ride through the Montréal–Gaspé region with stops in quaint villages along the way.
• Discover some of Quebec’s most stunning terrain and exquisite cuisine on a luxury train experience through the Charlevoix region.
• Train instead of plane...see more along the way between major cities like Montréal and Québec City, Toronto, and Ottawa or into New Brunswick.

Yukon

Travel onboard the White Pass & Yukon Route's narrow guage trains along one of the world's truly historic train routes, from Carcross, Yukon, passing briefly through British Columbia, and on to Skagway, Alaska. This is the railway that opened the Yukon to mining during the 1898 gold rush.