Brief Encounters with Trains

Helen's post about her adventures on the trains got me thinking about my own train encounters. I know she was speaking about commuter trains, but those are in short supply here (read: none). I was thinking of the VIA Rail trains that used to run between here and points west. They're still running, but not where I live. The service was discontinued years ago, which I still think is rather appalling.

When I was in university, passenger trains ran from here to Halifax, so it was an option for us students coming home for a weekend or other holiday to travel by rail. I only travelled that way a few times, but I remember liking it. The seats were acceptably comfortable, there was a canteen for getting snacks, and the trip felt a little like an adventure. The scenes in the Harry Potter movies on the Hogwarts Express reminded me of them a bit; not necessarily the look of the cars but the sound of the train trundling along the tracks, that slight swaying motion, the scenery zipping past outside.

When the trains stopped running we were left with the option of the bus, which fell far short in terms of comfort and general pleasantness. Buses were, by contrast, rather crowded, with less comfortable seats and personal space, and also, at that time, horribly dense with cigarette smoke. I learned to fall asleep pretty much as soon as the bus left Halifax and wake up about ten minutes from home. It wasn't ever a particularly restful sleep, but the time went quickly.

I think it would be a great adventure to travel across Canada by train. However, I don't think I'll be doing it anytime soon. I've just looked it up on the VIA Rail website for fun, and it would cost $2,396.85, just for me, one way. Whew! Perhaps most of my encounters with trains will stay in my past...