Sudbury, Ontario
Coming up on Sudbury, Ontario….running about 30 mins behind. Sudbury is the Nickel capital of the world. In fact, they have a giant nickel somewhere in the middle of town. But if you ain’t a miner I don’t see why anyone would want to live there. Cold Winters! Although, I guess it’s in the heart of ‘cottage country’….maybe a bit north.
Via vs. Amtrak
Someone asked me to compare Via vs. Amtrak. First, I’d like to say that I’m Canadian, so my opinions may be a bit biased. But really, VIA wins hands down on many levels. The only level I see Amtrak competing on is the Dining Car.
The service and menu in the dining car is exceptional other than the fact they insist on seating people together, even when not busy. This, of course, allows you to meet with fellow passengers, but when you just want to be anti-social it’s a thorn in my side. VIA does similar seating, but I don’t see it enforced as much.
In other areas for comparison, I can only comment on Coach/Comfort class….not sleeper accommodations. On Amtrak, you might see the car attendant when he collects your ticket. After that they only time you see them is if there is a stop to let passengers on or off. After that they all disappear to some employee only compartment or something.
Via Rail Car Attendants on the other hand are…well, first of all they are Canadian. There is a genuine friendliness about them. In fact, sometimes they are almost too polite. But that may be when I’m just too tired to deal with bubbly people.
The pillows they hand out are at least 2x bigger than the Amtrak ones. And they also hand out these green ‘car blanket’ throws to help with that early morning chill. The only trip so far that they haven’t done this was on the run up to Churchill. Strange, because you’d think that’s where they’d need the blankets most. Regardless, the crew on the Hudson Bay was wonderful and they did a great job with the equipment provided. It’s a heavily subsidized run, and politically, the only reason it’s probably still running is because it’s considered an ‘essential service’ to Churchill since there are no roads that go there. A lot of the native people use it as a lifeline for groceries and other essential supplies.
The stainless steel cars of VIA Rail are 1950’s vintage I believe. But, well maintained and updated, and the crew seems to take pride in keeping them clean. There is a trash baggie at every seat, and the crew changes them out on a regular basis during the trip.
I don’t know what the wages are between Amtrak and VIA crews, but the VIA crews seem to have more job satisfaction, and it shows right away.
As mentioned above, the menus and quality of the food and service seem equal. So far the only menu I haven’t liked is the one from Winnipeg-Toronto on the ‘Canadian’. I ended up having the antipasto, which was excellent, because I don’t eat fish so the Salmon Burger didn’t appeal to me, and the few other choices weren’t that great either….Chicken Pot Pie, and Monte Cristo sandwich. Something about egg-dipped bread just doesn’t do it for me. The deserts were great though. A rainbow sherbert and fruit salad. Compliments of my dinner mates who shared.
The VIA trains have been ‘on time’ for the most part. In fact, mostly running ahead of schedule. This allows extra stopping time to get out for some fresh air and photo ops. We don’t even need to mention Amtrak’s record with scheduling. I’m not sure why they even bother to print a schedule. Although VIA also has to wait for freight to pass on occasion, I’ve seen where freight has sat on the siding and let US go past. It’s more like VIA is fit into regular traffic, instead of dealt with as a dirty stepchild wanting to share track with the big boys. Regardless, I’m sure if the right people had their way there’d be no passenger rail service in either country. VIA is heavily subsidized by tax dollars as it is already.
Overall, VIA is the more enjoyable ride. The dome car, although not GREAT for photographs, offers a wonderful 360 degree view. A front or rear view is nearly impossible to attain on Amtrak.
Pier 21 has historic signifigance...it's like the Ellesmere Island of Canada as it was an immigration processing centre. Before it was recognized for it's historic significance, it was, among other things, a warehouse for exporting 50lb bags of flour to the Soviet Union, and I spent 35 weeks there studying civilian seaman stuff when it housed the Nova Scotia Nautical Institute. When not in class we would explore the many nooks and crannies such old buildings always seem to have and came across some of the decades old immigration forms. Just to the right of this photo is the ramp where soldiers were loaded onto troop ships such as the Queen Mary and transported to foriegn lands during the World Wars. Today it's an interpretative center where one can trace their roots much like Ellesmere Island/Statue of Liberty, and I believe it's still used as an artists community of studios, as well as a community centre. 
