Canadian Railroads > No sleeping cars on the Canadian until next year

VIA claims the Canadian will resume as promised on November 1st, but there will be no Sleeper Plus or Prestige until January 2021. So much for the trip our group of eight were planning in November.

https://www.viarail.ca/en/travel-advisory-information
 

DrawingroomA Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> VIA claims the Canadian will resume as promised on
> November 1st, but there will be no Sleeper Plus or
> Prestige until January 2021. So much for the trip
> our group of eight were planning in November.
>
> https://www.viarail.ca/en/travel-advisory-informat
> ion

Interesting. This will serve as a two-month trial of the train's role in providing "ordinary" transportation service, albeit under circumstances that are very far from normal.

Ouch ! That hurts !
I just was able to book book a roomette on Nov. 8 from Toronto to Vancouver and return on Friday November 13...for $3600 Canadian.
I guess they haven't adjusted the website yet!?...
Hopefully "The Ocean" will start running in November as a "Full service"train from Montreal to Halifax...
I need a train ride in a sleeper soon !!! :):):)

So much for "social distancing". 

I reluctantly agree.  Enclosed spaces seem to be a prime venue for "the bug" to spread and I doubt VIA has HEPA filters in their air conditioning/heating system (or do they?).  And a dining car is a pretty challenging space to provide meals two meters apart.  I will probably have to delay my next venture across Canada until there is a vaccine.  And of course Canada has to agree to allow me in.  But already looking forward to it.

JBWX

I hope they feed Canadian and Ocean passengers more than a humus, cracker, and water snack. 

My "group" have travelled the full-length of the route of the Canadian almost every November for the past 10 years. There has been only one  economy coach which has been almost empty at times and never more than half full. A coach-only train would provide some service - only twice a week, of course - to many communities which have no other public transportation.

I wonder if VIA would run a Skyline car so people could get something to eat other than hummus and a Kit Kat bar. If they did, would passengers be allowed to sit in the dome? VIA has said passengers on the train formerly known as the Skeena are not allowed to use the dome. I have seen nothing about the dome on the Churchill train.

One of our group was just on the phone to VIA about our November trip and the sleepers for November and December have not actually been suspended. The agent said VIA is saying they are just to give themselves more time to figure out how to provide sleeper and meal service. The agent suggested we keep our bookings until it is known what is happening. Of course, we can cancel at any time if we wish. That explains why Reservia is still allowing bookings of sleepers even though there is a notice on the same page saying there are no sleepers. This will cause confusion with people interested in booking a sleeper for those two months.

Maybe they will decide to just have regular sleeeprs, not Prestige service. 

I have been in touch with a manager at VIA who has confirmed the information that my friend was given on the phone. Existing sleeping car  reservations for November and December are valid - for the time being. No new reservations will be accepted, however, despite it appearing that they will according to the on-line booking site Reservia. It is not known when a definite decision will be made.