VIA Rail

[Djeffery]

I think many of the people taking the Ocean (and the Canadian) are doing it for the journey, not simply as a mode of transportation. I did it once as a kid, I would never do it again. My dad did it back in whatever year it was (2008 I think) where VIA let veterans travel free for the summer. He lived in Halifax then so he brought his grand daughter (my niece) for a few weeks, since she was young enough that she also travelled cheap or maybe even free. Of course, the deal was that the free and cheap seats were coach. Took something like 36 hours each way to get to London, with connections in Montreal and Toronto. He said it was pretty miserable by the end of it, as I imagine it would be in coach that long but he said it was a bucket list item. Him and his wife still talk about taking the Canadian, but only one way, and in a sleeper, and flying the other direction.

Another friend of mine just did it last year after he retired. He booked it in coach, and the first thing he did when he got off the train in Halifax was go change his reservation to a sleeper for the trip home a couple weeks later lol.