TAKING THE TRAIN IN CANADA - All Aboard: The Complete North American Train Travel Guide - page 221

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TAKING THE TRAIN IN CANADA
A decade or so ago, a two-hour television documentary called
Last Train Across Canada was carried on PBS throughout the
United States. It's about an inquisitive older gentleman who trav-
els clear across Canada by train. It's a delightful film. For that
very reason, it has been rebroadcast periodically. Unfortunately,
the program has given millions of viewers the mistaken impres-
sion that transcontinental train service in Canada no longer
exists. Happily, that is not true. You may no longer be able to
make that journey straight through on just one train, but VIA
Rail can still take you coast-to-coast, all the way from Halifax,
Nova Scotia, in the east to Vancouver in the west. I've done it,
and it's an unforgettable experience.
VIA Rail is Canada's equivalent to Amtrak and is the com-
pany responsible for operating Canada's system of nationwide
passenger trains. Although it's a huge country covering millions
and millions of square miles, 90 percent of the population lives
within 200 miles of its border with the United States. For that
reason, Canada's passenger rail system is strung out more or less
through the middle of this population—covering an area roughly
4,000 miles long but just 200 miles wide.
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