Questions about Via's Canadian

[BaltACD]

What part of The Canadian's route is on Amtrak?

[PJS1]

According to the FY20-FY25 Service Line Plan, Amtrak expects to reduce its direct contribution food and beverage losses from $54.7 million in FY20 to $42.8 million in FY25. 

 

By FY25 the company plans to recover 80 percent of the cost of its food and beverage offerings before state contributions.  After state contributions it expects the recovery factor to be 88 percent. 

 

The company proposes to zero out the food and beverage losses and breakeven with undefined cost management and revenue generative initiatives along with ticket revenue allocations. Sounds like there is some smoke and mirrors in management’s plans.

 

According to several prior IG reports, approximately 90 percent of Amtrak’s loss on food and beverages is attributable to the long-distance trains.

[York1]

MidlandMike

So what's Congress going to do if the food service still loses money?

Probably nothing.  My point is that Anderson was hired to do something that is mandated by Congress.

People blame him and write letters to him.

They should be writing their Congressmen instead.

[Deggesty]

GN Fan, unless VIA has made a major change in how the cars are coupled, you have to go through no more than three cars to reach a diner, with each diner serving the passengers in no more than six sleepers, with three on one side and a dome lounge and three on the other side. If you have accommodations in the Park car, you would go through three cars.

[MidlandMike]

York1

Not to argue a point, but Anderson only did what Congress directed him to do.  Congress was the entity that demanded that the food service, by the end of 2020, could not lose money. 

So what's Congress going to do if the food service still loses money?

[York1]

GN_Fan

That worked great until Airplane Anderson cut the food out and replaced it with rubber chicken and a plastic box, then sold off the Pacific Parlour cars that served a wonderful slow-cooked, bone-in leg of lamb.  That’s all gone

 

Not to argue a point, but Anderson only did what Congress directed him to do.  Congress was the entity that demanded that the food service, by the end of 2020, could not lose money.  There was no way a full-service dining car could break even without charging $40 for a hot dog.

 

[GN_Fan]

Runnerdude48 –

 

My situation is probably a lot different than you envision as there is more to the story than just money, time, or convenience.  My concern was that if it’s 17 cars to the diner and 17 cars back, that might be somewhat of an issue when traveling at speed.  My wife and I are expats that are retired in Italy, and have been for the past 15 years.  Neither of us drive anymore since public transport here is very good, so neither of us even have a driver’s license…they expired more than a decade ago, besides driving is a chore and no fun at all. 

 

Flying is even worse, as you have to endure cramped seats, poor food, no elbow room, no scenery, and the blasted security checks.  Neither is any kind of an option we would even consider.  The Canadian has been a decades long dream of mine, kinda like taking the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, which is considerably shorter…unless you travel to Istanbul.   And ya, we’re just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Venice, so hopping on the Orient Express to London is an easy trip, but where is the rest of my family?  Not anywhere close, not even in the same hemisphere.

 

We have relatives on both American coasts…in Maine and in California.  We’ve been flying trans-Atlantic to Boston, spending time in Maine, then taking Amtrak directly to Frisco or to Frisco via Seattle.  That worked great until Airplane Anderson cut the food out and replaced it with rubber chicken and a plastic box, then sold off the Pacific Parlour cars that served a wonderful slow-cooked, bone-in leg of lamb.  That’s all gone….so Canada here we come.  And ya, I travel upper bunk…cramped but not a biggie.  The flight from Frisco going home is a 24 hour door-to-door ordeal….Frisco, Munich, Trieste, and I don’t want to do it twice…once is enough.  We fly Lufthansa, cramped seats and all, and it’s still 20 times better than United, which is the absolute pits.  NEVER AGAIN.  Lufthansa’s food is better than average, but no cigar.  Elbow room is ZERO.

 

It’s nice that you got to travel the Canadian and the Super Continental back in the day.  Back then, I took many round trips on the North Coast Ltd between Missoula, MT and Chicago…mostly by coach, and a slumbercoach if I could.  Many miles on the Mainstreeter too.  I traveled the Builder and Western Star back in the GN days, the Century from Chicago to New York, and on Illinois Central…the City of New Orleans, The Seminole, The Ilini, the City of Miami, and even the Southern Express.  There also was some un-named train between Dothan and Montgomery, Ala on the L&N.  Of all the travel I’ve done, by car, bus, train, and ship, the train beats everything by a long shot.  And ya, I’ve taken a ship from Venice to Athens, and it wasn’t much fun….froze to death in July and couldn’t shut off the air.  It was 95 or so in Venice, 110 in Athens, and 40 below in our room…my wife got sick over it.  So even if I’m going on 77, around the world travel is not a biggie, just inconvenient as hell and REALLY long.  Going thru multiple passport controls, security screenings,  and luggage inspections is bad enough, so I want to make the trip as pleasant as possible.  As one wag opined  “It’s better to have a pleasant journey than to just arrive.”

[runnerdude48]

For four people in their 70s and with mobility issues your best option is to fly.  For the price you are paying for a Prestige Class sleeper and a double bedroom you can buy four first class tickets on Air Canada.  Not only will you be more comfortable, you'll get there the same day you leave, have very good food and service, have a choice of flight times and not have to worry about arriving horribly late thereby taking up some of your vacation time.  And remember, in Prestige Class you'll have a double bed but in the double bedroom someone will have to sleep in the upper level bunk bed which is not easy to negotiate on a moving train.

Of course you will miss the scenery which is beautiful but, if that is emportant, fly to Calgary or Edmonton and rent a full size car and drive to Vancouver.  You'll have the freedom to stop where you want for as long as you want and enjoy the outdoors.  A couple of days in Banff, Lake Louise and/or Jasper can be a wonderful addition to you trip.  Plus you can put your car on a ferry and visit Victoria which is a wonderful city.  Harder to do without  car but I believe there is a bus option.

If driving isn't your thing then look into Rocky Mountaineer. It isn't for the "feint of wallet" but if you are considering a Prestige Class bedroom then money must not be an object.  Same great scenery but you don't take the chance of missing it because of lateness and passing through in the dead of night.  Plus you sleep in a hotel bed and take a shower that aren't moving although you can probably do that on The Canadian while sitting on a siding for 9 hours somewhere east of Winnipeg as has happened to some friends of mine awhile back.

I have taken both the Canadian and Super Continental back in the mid-70s prior to Via.  They were great trips but as I get older I find overnight train travel is not as comfortable as it once was and enjoy the ease, comfort and convenience of first class air travel instead.  But in any event, enjoy your trip using whatever means of transportation you use.

[PJS1]

The most effective way to get your questions answered is to call VIA or send them a note with the questions.  They will respond, especially if you have booked your trip, and you can give them the booking number. 

[Deggesty]

It has been several years since my wife and I traveled between Vancouver and Toronto, so the practices may have changed. Then, the first class cars were arranged in blocks as follows: three sleepers, a dome lounge, a diner, and three sleepers, and passengers in those six sleepers ate in the diner in the center. There were as many blocks as were needed. The Park car was one of the six in the last block.

A "cabin for two" for two is a "cabin for two," whether it is a bedroom or compartment, and there is no difference in pricing, even though a compartment is a little longer than a bedroom. 

[GN_Fan]

I’ve been taking coast-to-coast Amtrak trips from Boston to The PNW, but because of Airplane Anderson’s cuts on Amtrak, I’ve decided to live a decades-old dream of riding the Canadian.  So, I’m planning to take it from Toronto to Vancouver in early May but have several questions.  If I can swing it, I’d like to get a Prestige room for myself and my wife, and if things work out OK, we’ll be joined by another couple who will be staying in a cabin for two.  It’s obvious we’ll be in different cars and may have a different standing as far as access goes.  My questions are:

(1) It’s my understand that there will be two diners, and I’m assuming one is for coach and the other for sleepers.  The question my friend asked is whether we can eat together.  I think it’s a no brainer and we will be able to, so if I’m wrong, please clue me in.

(2) I’ve read somewhere that the Park car can, at times, be restricted to Prestige class only.  If that’s the case, can they join us as our guests?

(3)The train can be long…like 25-30 cars.  Everyone is in their 70’s and I just had knee replacement surgery and my wife has Parkinson’s, and both of us will have difficulty transiting a moving train.  Can anyone give me a clue how many cars it would be to the diner, more or less?  I need just a ballpark figure.  And related to that, if need-be, can we get the food delivered to our cabin like they do on Amtrak?  That is, if Amtrak has any edible food any more.

(4)Is there any physical difference between a cabin for 2 and a discounted cabin for 2?  I’m assuming it’s a pricing thing, but I may be wrong.

Any help here is appreciated and a big thank you in advance.