VIA Rail's Canadian

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railiner said:
Seaboard92 said:
I've put in a work application with them to work sleepers for the summer
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Interesting...sounds like a great summer job. VIA hires non-Canadians for such positions? Surprising....

Good luck! Let us know how you did..... :)
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I highly doubt they do. But perhaps Seaboard is Canadian or dual citizenship?

I've often wanted to work a season on the Rocky Mountaineer, since I'm currently not able to pay those prices and riding that line would be something else! But I doubt they hire from the US except for the Seattle positions.
 
Without even searching for dates, Capitol Limited and Southwest Chief, both in sleepers is $808. Capitol and Zephyr $879.

I'm all for the Canadian, did it once for a winter sale for about $800 in a roomette. Would live to ride it again, and for sure want to ride the Ocean once in my life as well. I have to factor in the cost of getting to and from Canada too.... I can take Mega Bus straight to Chicago for $15 and start my train trip from there. Getting to Toronto, having a hotel room that night, then another hotel in Vancouver, and then getting BACK from there.... that adds up. Fast. Every time I think about riding the Canadian again, I add up the costs and think... for that money I could do an Alaska trip (high on my list....) or go to Europe, or go to Japan. Hmmm... So for me, the Canadian might have been a one time thing until I strike it big.
 
crescent-zephyr said:
Without even searching for dates, Capitol Limited and Southwest Chief, both in sleepers is $808. Capitol and Zephyr $879.

I'm all for the Canadian, did it once for a winter sale for about $800 in a roomette. Would live to ride it again, and for sure want to ride the Ocean once in my life as well. I have to factor in the cost of getting to and from Canada too.... I can take Mega Bus straight to Chicago for $15 and start my train trip from there. Getting to Toronto, having a hotel room that night, then another hotel in Vancouver, and then getting BACK from there.... that adds up. Fast. Every time I think about riding the Canadian again, I add up the costs and think... for that money I could do an Alaska trip (high on my list....) or go to Europe, or go to Japan. Hmmm... So for me, the Canadian might have been a one time thing until I strike it big.
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How much does a Canadian coach seat usually cost compared to the sleepers?
 
CSXfoamer1997 said:
crescent-zephyr said:
Without even searching for dates, Capitol Limited and Southwest Chief, both in sleepers is $808. Capitol and Zephyr $879.

I'm all for the Canadian, did it once for a winter sale for about $800 in a roomette. Would live to ride it again, and for sure want to ride the Ocean once in my life as well. I have to factor in the cost of getting to and from Canada too.... I can take Mega Bus straight to Chicago for $15 and start my train trip from there. Getting to Toronto, having a hotel room that night, then another hotel in Vancouver, and then getting BACK from there.... that adds up. Fast. Every time I think about riding the Canadian again, I add up the costs and think... for that money I could do an Alaska trip (high on my list....) or go to Europe, or go to Japan. Hmmm... So for me, the Canadian might have been a one time thing until I strike it big.
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How much does a Canadian coach seat usually cost compared to the sleepers?
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I've seen coach seats for around $200. That being said, in my experience it's worth saving up for at least a berth. Last year I was able to get a sale on a berth and it was around $400 for Winnipeg - Vancouver. The experience is vastly different in coach from what I've heard. If you're flexible and watch the sales, a sleeper berth is really the best way to go, especially if traveling alone.
 
Yes! I did forget about the berths.... An upper berth on sale can be a great price. You still get all your meals in the dining car too.
 
crescent-zephyr said:
railiner said:
Seaboard92 said:
I've put in a work application with them to work sleepers for the summer
Click to expand...
Interesting...sounds like a great summer job. VIA hires non-Canadians for such positions? Surprising....Good luck! Let us know how you did..... :)
Click to expand...
I highly doubt they do. But perhaps Seaboard is Canadian or dual citizenship? I've often wanted to work a season on the Rocky Mountaineer, since I'm currently not able to pay those prices and riding that line would be something else! But I doubt they hire from the US except for the Seattle positions.
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I have my work permit already but no citizenship. I'll let you guys know if I get a call. I'm hoping I will
 
Bob Dylan said:
Seaboard 92: Congrats on getting Landed Status in the Great White North. Unions are very strong in Canada,( even Wal-Mart couldn't break the Union) are you a member of a Canadian Union also?
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Thank you. I haven't joined the union yet. But that would be a good idea. I'm slowly working my way into getting that job. Slowly but surely. I applied for Vancouver and Winnipeg for the Canadian pool. And Toronto and Montreal for the corridor pool. Toronto doesn't have a crew for the Canadian
 
Amfleeter said:
Bob Dylan said:
Amfleeter said:
Coast-to-Coast Amtrak is getting more appealing by the year in comparison to VIA, just with the constant price increases and service reductions from VIA.
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Doesn't this apply to both Companies?

And the Canadian and the Ocean still have better equipment, excellent service and by far better food!

If you go in the Winter the Canadian is actually a great deal compared to Amtrak! And the new Liberal Government seems to be willing to better fund VIA than the Tories were, just the opposite of the situation with Amtrak! YMMV
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With the new prices, it's not as much of a great deal for people on a somewhat tighter budget like me, especially with no off-peak prices - a cabin for one is nearly 1.7k USD when discounted now. Don't know what sale prices are like - is there still half off sales?

Amtrak's actually seemingly lowered prices from what I've seen - lower buckets seem easier to catch now. I can do cross-country if I'm careful for 800-1000 USD, though Amtrak does no sleeper sales as far as I know.

That 700 dollars goes far - I like to do stopovers - and that could be my hotel in Jasper or Kalispell.
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Last I checked, the price for an upper berth one way was about $1,900 CAD, which is about $1,450 USD. Compare that to a route between, say Buffalo and Seattle (about the same distance) on Amtrak in a roomette... $800 USD. (Both trains phantom booked on February 7th, 2017, to show a booking if you were to book early, and get the low bucket fares)
 
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OBS said:
Do you speak French?

That may be the biggest prerequisite...
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I understand written French in afraid better then I speak it. But I am working really hard at the moment trying to learn the pronunciations with a friend of mine who was a French exchange student. I'm trying my best on learning it but that's the best I can do
 
TylerP42 said:
Last I checked, the price for an upper berth one way was about $1,900 CAD, which is about $1,450 USD. Compare that to a route between, say Buffalo and Seattle (about the same distance) on Amtrak in a roomette... $800 USD. (Both trains phantom booked on February 7th, 2017, to show a booking if you were to book early, and get the low bucket fares)
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Did you do any checking to verify that you were seeing low bucket fares? Often the Amtrak offerings are opened at mid bucket rather than low bucket, I believe. I have no idea what VIA does, but would be interested in hearing from those who know.
 
willem said:
TylerP42 said:
Last I checked, the price for an upper berth one way was about $1,900 CAD, which is about $1,450 USD. Compare that to a route between, say Buffalo and Seattle (about the same distance) on Amtrak in a roomette... $800 USD. (Both trains phantom booked on February 7th, 2017, to show a booking if you were to book early, and get the low bucket fares)
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Did you do any checking to verify that you were seeing low bucket fares? Often the Amtrak offerings are opened at mid bucket rather than low bucket, I believe. I have no idea what VIA does, but would be interested in hearing from those who know.
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I'll go and say it was mostly guesswork -I'll do some verifying when I am home. VIARail, I'm not sure. I'll look into that as well when I get home from hockey.
 
For April 15, Amtrak is offering Buffalo to Seattle in roomettes for an adult at $635.

Interestingly, amsnag results often show taking the Maple Leaf from Buffalo to Buffalo around noon and then waiting for the Lake Shore Limited at midnight. When I go to amtrak.com, I see no such itinerary. Since amsnag requires the station code (BUF), it shouldn't be any confusion about whether departure is from Exchange Street or Depew.

Screen Shot 2016-03-22 at 08.45.28.png
 
CCC1007 said:
Amfleeter said:
I'm not seeing sleepers in Discount Tuesday deals lately. Did something happen?
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Could it have something to do with the approach of peak season?
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You're probably right. I'm trying to get a good look at prices, planning a booking for February. I'd like to book ASAP so I can plan around the firm date. Guess I can wait for the fall/winter half-off sale. Perhaps they'll bring back off-peak prices by then.
 
I've seen discount Sleeper Fares on the Canadian available up to May, mostly in Sections, which are the cheapest Sleepers, but a Lower Berth is an excellent way to ride this train.

It's very comfortable and includes all Regular Sleeper benefits. I paid around $600 CDN the last time I rode from Vancouver to Toronto on a Tuesday.
 
Bob Dylan said:
I've seen discount Sleeper Fares on the Canadian available up to May, mostly in Sections, which are the cheapest Sleepers, but a Lower Berth is an excellent way to ride this train.

It's very comfortable and includes all Regular Sleeper benefits. I paid around $600 CDN the last time I rode from Vancouver to Toronto on a Tuesday.
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Could that be to fill up a sleeper that has a tour group in it?
 
Bob Dylan said:
I've seen discount Sleeper Fares on the Canadian available up to May, mostly in Sections, which are the cheapest Sleepers, but a Lower Berth is an excellent way to ride this train.

It's very comfortable and includes all Regular Sleeper benefits. I paid around $600 CDN the last time I rode from Vancouver to Toronto on a Tuesday.
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I'll second all that. But you have to be somewhat nimble to get out of bed and still keep yourself behind the curtain. At least, that was my experience.
 

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