View Full Version : Connecting to Via Rail in Canada
Has anyone used Canada's Via Rail to travel back east after completing a northbound PCT thru hike? I've never taken Via Rail but I have traveled in the Jasper and Banff area and a rail journey through the parks might be a nice way to get back home after the hike. I see that there is a Via Rail station in Agassiz BC which would be closer than Vancouver from Manning Park and I assume the bus that goes to Vancouver would stop there. I could either take the train to Edmonton and fly home or go all the way to Toronto and connect to Amtrak.
Amtrak is also obviously an option from Seattle but for some reason when I search schedules for Seattle to DC, the site keeps trying to route me down the coast to San Francisco and then to Chicago which is, to say the least, a circuitous way of returning home!
With Amtrak, you can choose the Empire Builder route which goes across the northern US but its usually the 3rd/4th option listed if you leave the default sorting via Departure Time. Change the Sortting to Duration and it will be the first option.
Thanks, I see that option now. That could be a scenic way to get back as well and it might be possible to stop at Glacier National Park
SCRUB HIKER
06-03-2014, 17:05
Having ridden both the Empire Builder and the Coast Starlight/California Zephyr to get back East from the Pacific Northwest, I can say that you can't lose with either. VIA Rail is probably going to be significantly more expensive than Amtrak, although not having taken it myself, I don't know if the standard of service or punctuality is any different. You probably won't care about either (but you may care very much about money) at the end of a PCT hike, so I'd suggest Amtrak.
If you are looking at VIA they do offer a number of sales so try to wait for one of those if you can.
Also take a look at their express deals section to see if any match up with when you want to go as you can save consoderably.
Edmonton to Toronto with an express deal could be a cheap as 240$CND for a regular seat or 370$ CND for a sleeper regular price for those is around 640 and 920 respectively. The nice part of getting the sleeper is that hat also include your meals with it which the regular seats don't
The other thing to note with via is that they only run 3 times a week during the summer.