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Via Ocean

For hops under 500km I actually much prefer to take the train vs. fly, the train is often just as fast when you consider the pre-board times for flying. Train in Ottawa is fantastic, always a pick-up space directly in front of the doors, if you need to park it's 50m away. You can arrive five minutes before departure and you will be on the train.
 
Dan Dubeau said:
Enjoy the trip! I find travel by train relaxing.
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I find it dangerous.

Forty years ago or so I would frequently take the train to London to visit my bride to be. She'd lovingly be at the station waiting to pick me up. I'd show up after a two and half hour ride in the bar car and just couldn't wait introduce her to all my new found best buddies.

Amazing the crap she put up with. Over the decades she's largely turned me into a civilized man. Mostly.


Someday I'd like to take the train trip through the Rockies.
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Likewise, but the CP luxury one, which looks like the nicest is eye wateringly expensive. I think I'd want the luxury if I have to sit for four days
 
Dan Dubeau said:
Enjoy the trip! I find travel by train relaxing. I can't relax as a passenger in a car, plane, or boat. Whenever we go anywhere I always end up driving, but for some reason train travel is the one that allows me to just relax and "get there". I don't know why. Someday I'd like to take the train trip through the Rockies.
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Been there done that. As a seven year old I immigrated with the family to Victoria from the UK. First week of the adventure was aboard the Empress of England, three memories there. First was the swimming pool, the depth of the shallow end coincided perfectly with my height and second it was not heated, sea water pumped in and flushed out, right nipply as you cruised past icebergs. Last was the long suffering stewardesses whose job it was to keep all the brats entertained, prizes for the games could be legitimately won or had by being an obnoxious noisy brat.

The train was five days, Montreal to Vancouver, boring as all heck for a seven year old. Only two moments of interest there. First was the one hour delay when a buffalo wouldn't get off the tracks but that was at 2 in the morning so I just slept through that. The second was the Rockies, wow. Coming from a hilly country at best, my mind was blown by those rocks. Spent the whole leg of the trip from the foot hills to Vancouver in the front seat of the rear skycar. Watched the front of the train come out of the spiral tunnel before entering it at the rear. It was the only part of that 12 day trip that I wasn't an obnoxious twat.
 
I expect trains will be a major transportation link in the future as we strive for reduced fossil fuel consumption and growing populations. Too bad the railways have eliminated rail route after rail route, often turning the land over to real estate developers. Good luck trying to acquire a railway right of way 30 years from now.
The government basically gave those rights of way to the railway companies. If they now choose not to use them as railway corridors, the land should have reverted back to the crown and been preserved as a permanent transportation corridor. Maybe too far-sighted thinking for society today.
 
Yeah, not to put too fine a point upon it, but if the current state of line maintenance by the rail operators, carries on much longer, the only hope for affordable rail transit, is gonna be to build entirely from scratch.

Given the headaches with getting a simple building permit for residential housing, I don't see much future in it.

I was impressed beyond words by the mass movement of people on rail, in London, as well as in Italy. The problem in both cases, is you have to live like one of those crickets in the box at the pet store (feeder crickets) where the only view you have is looking up at three layers of buttholes, trying to make out like it's a good day because it's only three layers.... In both London and Italy, I was pretty happy to leave the crowds behind on departure...
 
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