economy plus vs touring

[Jim]

Looking to take the Skeena this month. I see economy, economy plus, and touring. Prices are $198, $225, and $500.

What is economy plus on via?

On the days with touring class available, will they hold firm and not allow access to the park car? If I just go 2 days later, touring isn't available, so economy should have access to park car?

 

[Guest]

Economy plus is simply an unrestricted coach class fare. Yes you will have access tot he Park car if you go on a day when touring class is not on offer.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Take the Skeena on a day when Touring Class is not offered, and simply book Economy. You'll get to ride in the Dome Car anyway which beats what Touring has extra.

Look at this: http://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/trains/rockies-and-pacific/jasper-prince-rupert/schedules.

I was planning to ride it before I had to postpone it for various reasons. But I had planned to ride the Brewster connection Lake Louise-Jasper along the Icefields Parkway: http://www.brewster.ca/rocky-mountains/destinations/banff/transportation/brewster-banff-airport-express/.

Try it out, do like, one day Icefields Parkway bus, then one day touring Jasper, one day on the Skeena to Prince George, and one day continuing to Prince Rupert. And you can come back south on BC Ferries down to Port Hardy, where a next-day Greyhound connection will get you to Vancouver. And before the Icefields Parkway bus I was planning to ride Greyhound into the Rockies from Vancouver. So that makes a GREAT Western Canada loop.

So here's the BC Ferries: http://www.bcferries.com/schedules/inside/ip-current.php.

And the Greyhound: http://extranet.greyhound.com/revsup/csked/pageset.html.

Play around and you'll have a GREAT multi-model trip, see more for less, with the Skeena right in the middle and its classic Budd railcars that are the ones you see in the Silver Streak, yes the exact same ones as the Silver Streak 1976, they last a long time! Ah, too bad my trip has to wait.....

BTW, there's also Alaska Marine Highway ships from Prince Rupert out to Alaska.