The ongoing tension between Donald Trump and Canada took an unexpected turn when Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggested a counteroffer to Trump's remarks about
I grew up in Boston with the T - Skytrain is rather pleasant to ride but has absolutely horrible coverage. It connects to only a single university and it’s VCC - there is no connection to neither SFU nor UBC and in terms of commuting it’s only really relevant to New West and a narrow slice of Burnaby… there’s also no skytrain link to North Vancouver (I’m not counting SeaBus - while it’s a treat to occasionally ride it it’s slow as ass).
It has service every 3 minutes, fully autonomous, and the coverage has been expanding consistently. The T started in 1889, it’s got a hundred years head start on SkyTrain.
I have! VIA is actually worse and it’s so fucking disappointing.
I will grant that I’ve never actually lost my seat on VIA due to overbooking (fuck Amtrak) but VIA’s pricing is so fucking horrible that it’s pretty much made itself irrelevant outside really short journies like the St. Lawrence valley cities.
I’ve ridden Amtrak but I’ve also seen videos about how Via Rail is basically unusable. Amtrak has improved significantly in the past decade as well, while Via seemingly regressed (again, Via info is based on other people’s experiences, not mine).
Compared to the US, Canada may as well be Japan in terms of rail.
It’s ironic that the US was ultimately born and raised on expansion of rail, but because cars became so profitable and lucrative, US passenger rail is a constant afterthought, if it’s even an option at all.
If you’ve ever ridden Amtrak, you probably know what the big problem is: most rail lines in the US give extreme priority to freight, and the freight operators basically own all the track. As a result, Amtrak is constantly late – sometimes very late, since it needs to wait for freight to do its thing.
Couple that with Amtrak rates being sky high, plus the fact that it’s extremely slow even without the freight waiting, and it’s a much deeper story than how much track exists.
Riding on VIA is incredibly expensive, on occasion 3-4 times the price of a flight. Incredibly inconvenient, checked luggage and weighed carry-on and all that jazz, despite being a literal railway. Incredibly slow, it’s faster to drive to Toronto from Vancouver. VIA is absolutely awful and I will never ride it again until it’s fixed. On the other hand, AmTrak from Vancouver to Seattle is not awful. Both are miserable on a world stage but it’s like putting the bottom two against each other.
Related to my original comment, I’ve been on a Japanese Shinkansen many times. It is a shockingly different experience. Comfortable, clean, no fuss, and relatively inexpensive. From Tokyo to Kyoto in about 2 hours (roughly 450km distance).
Once you leave the high speed train, you’re greeted by a subway system also second to none. Get virtually anywhere you need to in the city without the need for a car. A 45 minute ride tends to be $3-4.
Even in cities with relatively limited subway systems (limited for Japan – still extensive in many comparisons), like Kyoto, the bussing system is actually fantastic. Equally clean, and you can even use the same touch card you use for rail.
European trains are pretty great too. Maybe not as nice as Japan, but e.g. the German ICE is pretty clean and also affordable. Sure, DB is famous for being late too, but not Amtrak levels of late.
I guess that was just a ramble. All to say: what wonderful things our “modern” countries could do if we didn’t idolize fighting amongst ourselves.
I salivate at the thought of an efficient and effective transit system that I could use every day. I love driving, so I would still own a car. But to have the freedom to not have to drive everywhere would be amazing. I haven’t had the opportunity to ride the Shinkansen yet, or visit Amsterdam and see Europe’s transit myself, but I intend to visit more countries once I’m able to save up a little.
I don’t mean to be depressing but envying Canada for its spectacular rail service would be inadvisable.
Viarail sucks, but Vancouver’s SkyTrain is a delight.
I grew up in Boston with the T - Skytrain is rather pleasant to ride but has absolutely horrible coverage. It connects to only a single university and it’s VCC - there is no connection to neither SFU nor UBC and in terms of commuting it’s only really relevant to New West and a narrow slice of Burnaby… there’s also no skytrain link to North Vancouver (I’m not counting SeaBus - while it’s a treat to occasionally ride it it’s slow as ass).
It has service every 3 minutes, fully autonomous, and the coverage has been expanding consistently. The T started in 1889, it’s got a hundred years head start on SkyTrain.
Can’t be worse than the US’s.
Hooooboy is Via Rail going to impress you with how terrible it can be.
I mean, have you ridden Amtrak?
I have also ridden both. Amtrak is better than Via Rail.
Both are are still better than nothing, though.
I have! VIA is actually worse and it’s so fucking disappointing.
I will grant that I’ve never actually lost my seat on VIA due to overbooking (fuck Amtrak) but VIA’s pricing is so fucking horrible that it’s pretty much made itself irrelevant outside really short journies like the St. Lawrence valley cities.
I’ve ridden Amtrak but I’ve also seen videos about how Via Rail is basically unusable. Amtrak has improved significantly in the past decade as well, while Via seemingly regressed (again, Via info is based on other people’s experiences, not mine).
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Compared to the US, Canada may as well be Japan in terms of rail.
It’s ironic that the US was ultimately born and raised on expansion of rail, but because cars became so profitable and lucrative, US passenger rail is a constant afterthought, if it’s even an option at all.
Nah. 9 VIA rail lines nationwide compared with 44 Amtrak lines. 7800 miles of trackage in Canada vs 21400 miles with Amtrak.
If you’ve ever ridden Amtrak, you probably know what the big problem is: most rail lines in the US give extreme priority to freight, and the freight operators basically own all the track. As a result, Amtrak is constantly late – sometimes very late, since it needs to wait for freight to do its thing.
Couple that with Amtrak rates being sky high, plus the fact that it’s extremely slow even without the freight waiting, and it’s a much deeper story than how much track exists.
Same thing at Via Rail. We stopped a looong time in the middle of nowhere one time so a freight could push through.
They were more chill than Amtrak tho, and they let people get off, stretch their legs and smoke
Riding on VIA is incredibly expensive, on occasion 3-4 times the price of a flight. Incredibly inconvenient, checked luggage and weighed carry-on and all that jazz, despite being a literal railway. Incredibly slow, it’s faster to drive to Toronto from Vancouver. VIA is absolutely awful and I will never ride it again until it’s fixed. On the other hand, AmTrak from Vancouver to Seattle is not awful. Both are miserable on a world stage but it’s like putting the bottom two against each other.
That does make sense.
Related to my original comment, I’ve been on a Japanese Shinkansen many times. It is a shockingly different experience. Comfortable, clean, no fuss, and relatively inexpensive. From Tokyo to Kyoto in about 2 hours (roughly 450km distance).
Once you leave the high speed train, you’re greeted by a subway system also second to none. Get virtually anywhere you need to in the city without the need for a car. A 45 minute ride tends to be $3-4.
Even in cities with relatively limited subway systems (limited for Japan – still extensive in many comparisons), like Kyoto, the bussing system is actually fantastic. Equally clean, and you can even use the same touch card you use for rail.
European trains are pretty great too. Maybe not as nice as Japan, but e.g. the German ICE is pretty clean and also affordable. Sure, DB is famous for being late too, but not Amtrak levels of late.
I guess that was just a ramble. All to say: what wonderful things our “modern” countries could do if we didn’t idolize fighting amongst ourselves.
I salivate at the thought of an efficient and effective transit system that I could use every day. I love driving, so I would still own a car. But to have the freedom to not have to drive everywhere would be amazing. I haven’t had the opportunity to ride the Shinkansen yet, or visit Amsterdam and see Europe’s transit myself, but I intend to visit more countries once I’m able to save up a little.