RAIL JOURNEYS Top 10...
"The Polar Bear Express is the wonderful name given to the service that operates on the186-mile stretch between Cochrane and coastal Moosonee in Ontario"
breakfast included on the outbound leg and an impressive four-course dinner on the return journey. “It really fits in with the trend for
new experiential, top-end product,” says Josephine Wiggall-Lazarus of Destination Québec UK.
the famous Rocky Mountaineer in Western Canada. Its various routes in BC and Alberta have long featured in the brochures of UK tour operators and visitors combining these two provinces should definitely consider stepping onboard as an essential part of the experience. Three different routes cross the
Rockies between Vancouver in BC and Jasper and Calgary in Alberta, but one of the top sellers is the stunning First Passage to the West. The two-day trip travels from Vancouver, via Kamloops and Banff, to Calgary, following the route of 19th century explorers through mountain scenery.
JASPER TO PRINCE RUPERT VIA Rail’s Rockies rail crossing, The Skeena, travels from Jasper in Alberta to Prince Rupert in British Columbia, with an overnight stop in Prince George.
“It’s arguably the most scenic rail
journey in Canada,” said a VIA Rail spokesperson. “It spends most of its two-day journey in the mountains amid stunning scenery and passes through remote towns and villages in Northern BC, all best enjoyed from the Dome carriage.”
LE MASSIF DE CHARLEVOIX The newest addition to Canada’s many scenic rail journeys is the Train of Le Massif de Charlevoix. The train transports visitors between
Montmorency Falls, just outside Québec City, and La Malbaie, along an 87-mile route that mostly runs right alongside the St Lawrence River. Day-trip and overnight excursions
are available in both winter and summer – when skiing and a variety of adventure activities are respectively the focus of longer stays – with
THE WHITE PASS & YUKON ROUTE RAILWAY This historic railway was built in 1898 to satisfy the demands of the Klondike Gold Rush. Tens of thousands of men were employed on the project and 450 tonnes of explosives were used to clear its route through the region's challenging topography. Today, passengers are promised a
journey through “a panorama of mountains, glaciers, gorges, waterfalls, tunnels and trestle bridges”. The railway’s southern extreme is at Skagway on the Alaskan coast – a popular port of call for several cruise lines – but the bulk of the route is in Canada, where it passes through British Columbia and Yukon, terminating at Carcross, with connections by road on to Whitehourse. It is a summer-only service, with a six-hour journey time between Skagway and Carcross.
JOURNEY THROUGH THE CLOUDS Another top Rocky Mountaineer trip is the Journey Through the Clouds between Vancouver and Jasper.
The two-day journey passes through
the Coastal Mountain Range and the Fraser Canyon, passing by the Albreda Glacier and Pyramid Falls before Mount Robson – the highest peak in the Rockies – looms into view. Travel on this itinerary is available in
RedLeaf and GoldLeaf classes, with an intermediate SilverLeaf class available on other services. New next year will be an additional
Rocky Mountaineer service from Seattle, in the US, through to Vancouver.
THE POLAR BEAR EXPRESS Ontario Northland runs a variety of train services in the province, but the Polar Bear Express is the wonderful name given to the service that operates on the186-mile stretch between Cochrane and coastal Moosonee. The five-hour journey is dominated
by impressive forest vistas, with the northern terminus at Moosonee a gateway to First Nations culture and excellent kayaking territory that’s really off the beaten track. Don’t let the train’s name fool you though – polar bears are rarely seen in the area.
THE OCEAN This VIA Rail service stretches from Montréal to Halifax and is known as The Ocean Route. Departing Montréal in the evening along the banks of the St Lawrence
SELLING CANADA • SPRING 2012 21
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