If you’re looking to save a bundle on a train trip this year, the clock is ticking.

The whopping 60-per-cent discount Via Rail Canada offered as a way to make up with passengers angered by a two-day strike that paralysed the rail line expires tomorrow night.

Via spokesperson Ashley Doyle said from Toronto commuters have until 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time July 31 to take advantage of the massive discount, applicable to trips through Dec. 14.

The original deadline for discounted tickets was yesterday, but Via extended the promotion for 48 hours because an overwhelming response clogged the railway’s website, tied up phone lines for reserving tickets and resulted in long lineups at train stations.

Doyle confirmed the response to the deeply discounted tickets has been phenomenal.

“The website never crashed per se, but it was much slower than normal and as a result we did add bandwidth yesterday afternoon,” she said.

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Source: Winnipeg Free Press, >>> continue reading

Amtrak has wasted little time using its $1.3 billion slice of the federal stimulus package, unveiling the first of 81 passenger cars to be restored with the help of economic recovery funds.

Passenger car no. 25103, damaged a few years ago in a yard collision but now completely refurbished — complete with that “new car” interior smell — was shown off Monday at Amtrak’s maintenance facility in Bear. More than 100 hard-hatted workers joined Amtrak president and CEO Joseph Boardman in celebrating completion of its restoration.

The car, refitted at a cost of about $687,000, will rejoin the Amtrak fleet next week and will be used on long-distance routes stretching from Toronto to Miami.

With ridership increasing by about 25 percent over the past three years, Amtrak is welcoming the additional seating capacity that will be provided by cars brought out of storage for repairs. Cars like the one displayed Monday can seat 60.

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By RANDALL CHASE, abcNews, >>> continue reading

It’s been 41 years since passenger trains last rolled down Henry Flagler’s old railroad between West Palm Beach and Jacksonville.

But if Florida gets its way, Amtrak will run down those tracks beginning in the fall of 2012, stopping in coastal towns such as St. Augustine, Cocoa Beach and Stuart.

The Florida Department of Transportation has applied for federal stimulus money for railroad projects to bring Amtrak service to the Florida East Coast Railway.

“Everybody has always thought this was a good idea. The problem has always been the funding,” said Kim Delaney, a planner with the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, an agency that serves Boca Raton to Vero Beach.

Amtrak currently runs between Miami and Jacksonville on the CSX Transportation tracks, which parallel I-95 in South Florida. But instead of continuing up the coast like the FEC, the tracks veer inland to Orlando and Tampa before heading to Jacksonville.

It takes 9 hours to make the trip by train, 11 hours if the trains stop in Tampa.

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By Michael Turnbell, Sun Sentinel, >>> continue reading

Amtrak Cascades is adding a second daily train between Seattle and Vancouver, BC. The Canadian government announced that they are extending border clearance service for the second train — just in time for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The second train is a pilot project scheduled to begin in mid-August, 2009 and will run until after the Winter Games. Washington State Department of Transportation is working in conjunction with Amtrak.

The additional Amtrak Cascades train between Seattle and Vancouver, BC was originally scheduled to begin service in August 2008. But the Canadian Border Services Agency determined that a “cost recovery fee” of $1,500 per day for border services for the second train was required The cost recovery fee was not anticipated and is not funded, so the second train service was delayed while a resolution was worked out.

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By Sue Frause, Seattle Travel Examiner, >>> continue reading

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (July, 2009) – Rocky Mountaineer is proud to announce that two of its rail journeys have been selected by the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) as the most exciting and scenic train experiences in the world. SATW, the world’s largest organization of professional travel journalists and photographers with members in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia, recently conducted a poll on the “Top 10″ train rides. Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer took the number one spot along with the Whistler Mountaineer, coming in at number eight.
“It is truly an honour for our Rocky Mountaineer train to be recognized and singled-out as the best in the world by SATW, a prestigious organization with members who are highly respected for providing expert travel advice,” says Randy Powell, President of Rocky Mountaineer. “Having both of our trains selected in the “Top 10″ is an amazing acknowledgement and gives us further indication that we are providing our guests with premier travel experiences.”

Both the Rocky Mountaineer and the Whistler Mountaineer trains continue to delight international writers, editors and producers alike, offering an exceptional onboard experience, sumptuous Western Canadian cuisine and stunning views that only the British Columbia coast, interior and Canadian Rockies can deliver.

The Society of American Travel Writers, comprised of more than 1,300 writers, photographers, journalists, film producers and public relations professionals, aims to promote responsible journalism and encourages the conservation and preservation of historic sites and natural wonders worldwide. Holding several travel related opinion surveys each year, this talented and respected group provides insight and expertise on destinations and attractions across the globe.

Rocky Mountaineer offers unique Canadian vacation packages and four spectacular rail routes through British Columbia and Alberta. Best known for the internationally-acclaimed Rocky Mountaineer train, a two-day, all daylight rail journey through Canada’s West and the Canadian Rockies, the company also offers trips onboard the Whistler Mountaineer train, a daily three-hour experience between North Vancouver and Whistler, BC. Since its inception in 1990, the company has grown to become the largest privately owned passenger rail service in North America and welcomed its one millionth guest in 2008. Rocky Mountaineer has been honoured with three World Travel Awards as “World’s Leading Travel Experience by Train” and was recently named by National Geographic as one of the “World’s Greatest Trips.”
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For more info, visit  >>> Rocky Mountaineer
For more info, visit >>> Whistler Mountaineer

A perky brunette’s quest to find the sweetheart of her dreams on an American reality television show could translate into a multimillion dollar windfall for Alberta’s struggling tourism industry.

On tonight’s episode of The Bachelorette, Vancouver interior designer Jillian Harris rides the rails aboard the Rocky Mountaineer to Lake Louise and Banff, where the iconic scenery will share prime-time exposure with a bevy of hunky contestants.

Fans can expect to see Harris nosh on fondue in Lake Louise and frolic on the region’s famed alpine slope before heading to Banff, where one of her suitors will be handed a rose and eliminated from the game in the Cascade Ballroom of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

It’s the sort of exposure money can’t buy, say local tourism officials, who hope the show will bring awareness to Alberta at a time when bookings are down during the normally busy peak summer season.

“That kind of endorsement is critical in our economy today,” said Lori Bayne, a spokeswoman for Banff-Lake Louise Tourism.

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By Tamara Gignac, Calgary Herald, >>> continue reading