OTTAWA — Faster trains, more frequency and punctuality are among the priorities of the new boss at Canada’s national passenger rail service.
After a difficult year in 2009, with declining revenues because of the global economic slowdown, Via Rail’s newly minted president says he expects to see ridership levels grow as new investments make train trips more attractive than travelling by road or air. Read the full story
Kingsbrae Garden, for the fifth year running, will be among a series of feature gardens on the VIA Rail Garden Route.
Now in its fifth year, the VIA Rail Garden Route program highlights 18 of Canada’s most magnificent feature gardens as well as 27 5-Bloom Communities in Bloom destinations and a growing number of local garden attractions along VIA’s Halifax to Vancouver Island network.
Kingsbrae Garden in St. Andrews offers 27 glorious acres of horticultural marvels, with more than 50,000 perennials, shrubs and trees in many themed gardens, a genuine functioning Dutch windmill (1/3 scale), alpacas, peacocks, pygmy goats, ponds, Canada’s first “Jurassic Living Fossil” wollemi pine, acres of virgin Acadian forest and numerous other attractions.
Kingsbrae Garden also presents its second annual National Sculpture Competition this year. Entries are submitted from Newfoundland and Labrador to British Columbia.
Kingsbrae Garden is open from May 21 to Oct. 9. Guided tours are available.
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‘Near capacity’ opening weekend for Sea to Sky train
Whistler Mountaineer chugs into town under new name
Under the banner of a new name, the Whistler Mountaineer steamed its way to a near capacity opening weekend as it launched its summer season on May 14.
That “near capacity” weekend could be a sign of good things to come this summer for the re-branded “Rocky Mountaineer Whistler Sea to Sky Climb.” Read the full story
Meredith Richards always thought Central Virginia harbored pent-up rail demand. But the former Charlottesville City Councilor admits to a pleasant surprise when Amtrak revealed figures showing that the new daily passenger train service she spearheaded has topped its annual ridership goal— with half a year left to go. Read the full story
The Raven Totem Pole Repatriation Tour
VIA Rail Canada in partnership with Parks Canada is proud to announce the creation of a special tour package to commemorate the repatriation of the Haida Nation’s magnificent Raven Totem Pole to Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). This 11-day, once-in-a-lifetime tour promises to be a rich celebration of the history and culture of the Haida nation. Built by a Haida master carver in Old Masset, Haida Gwaii in the 1870s-80s, the 12-metre (40 feet) totem was acquired by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1915 and installed at the Jasper train station to greet visitors arriving by train. Read the full story
