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THE HERALD OUTLOOK Saturday January 20 Page Travel Outlook One train still winds its way across Canada 43fllk Vince Travel The past is a hard place to leave but leave it we must Most of us love train travel as we think it used to be although in reality it seldom lived up to our rosy nostalgic conceptions With the start of the new year a time for breaking with the past we have reached a railway junc tion On one track train service is being coldly cut back despite cries of anguish from those who sea the past slipping away On the other a new era of highcost glossy long distance railway travel is burgeon ing to the applause of those romantics who may perhaps have watched too many vintage movies Jan 15 Via Rails famous cross- Canada train the Canadian stop ped its three weekly trips in each direction What is left is the three- aweek Western Transcontinental between Toronto and Vancouver Last week however tickets went on sale for the privately operated Royal Canadian running between Toronto and Vancouver once a week in each direction beginning July I The level of amenities will be much higher than on the Canadian as will fares VIA FUNDING The elimination of the Canadian is part of a broader reduction in railway service all across Canada made necessary by the federal governments cutbacks in funding to publicly owned Via Rail Those cutbacks instituted last year set off yet another round of and breast- beating about the lost glories of the railways that have tied this coun try together throughout our post- Confederation history But is it the governments fault entirely if so few people have been using Via Rail as opposed to the relatively large number of people who never use it but demand that it be available anyway Operating and maintaining a railway staffed Good service good coverage good Tfars State Farm insurance 174 Guelph St Georgetown 8731833 Like a good neighbor State Farm is there STATI FARM MM by strong unions who have sometimes appeared to put their own shortterm financial interests ahead of economic survival does put a severe strain on the public purse Without getting into specious arguments about the exact amount of money that Via has been losing on each passenger it transports it is clear that some strong correc tive measures had become necessary The relatively small group using railways frequently may not have helped its own cause which one assumes is continued use of trains by enough people On a typical crosscountry coach many ex perienced travellers inevitably stake a claim to a group of four seats per person by spreading out their belongings thus making it as difficult as possible for later- boarding passengers to find seats for themselves ORIENT EXPRESS The emerging trend in rail travel is to ensure that each passenger has a specific place and that the place be more luxurious and in viting than on any competitive mode of travel The man who risked a fortune to launch a modemday highjtyle rail service was a US industrialist and rail buff named James Sher wood president of Londonbased Sea Containers Ltd When the old Orient Express linking several major European cities was discontinued in Sherwood bought two of its car riages at auction later acquiring others Five years later once they had all been refurbished he launched a new company the Venice SimplonOrientExpress and was in the railway business By means of exceptionally astute promotion Sherwoods new train service caught on as a kind of adventure that every traveller aspired to as one would dream of flying on the supersonic Concorde despite the elevated fares It is the Canadian wholesaler of the VSOE Blyth and Co of Toron to that will be operating the premiumpriced Royal Canadian service between Toronto and Van couver commencing on Canada Day The eightcar doubledecker train will have capacity for up to passengers top accommoda tion on the train will be a few staterooms on the upper level each with a dome and three panoramic windows LUXURY In the US a somewhat similar venture was undertaken two mon ths ago by Amtrak that countrys equivalent of Via Rail The AmericanEuropean Ex press operates between Washington and Chicago via Pitt sburgh and consists of four exten sively rebuilt rail cars coupled to the rear of the regularly scheduled Capitol Limited At just under 1500 km however the journey is considerably shorter than that of the VSOE or the Royal Canadian The American- European Express leaves from Washington or Chicago in the early evening daily except Tuesday and completes its trip late the next morning or early afternoon This venture in luxe overnight train travel was initiated by a Florida businessman William F Spann He has made the dining car the highlight by providing a sophisticated sevencourse menu at dinner a late night buffet and a full breakfast The allinclusive fares start at US for a compartment with upper and lower berths toilet and vanity Thats more than double the cost of Amtrak s toppriced berth in regular service but the 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