VIA: Vancouver to Toronto
The Toronto-Vancouver train, which takes four days to travel between one
of Canada's largest
cities and the Pacific Coast, lets you see the breadth of the country like
never before.
A train goes up through rocky mountains, passing the town of Jasper, wide
Canadian prairies,
forests reflecting on the surface of Great Lakes, arriving at a large metropolitan
area of Toronto.
 
(L) The western terminal of the Pacific Central Railways, Vancouver station
(R) A baggage check-in place of the station
 
(L) This terminal station is used by both Canadian VIA trains and American
Amtrack trains.
(R) A waiting room, Salon Panorama Lounge is for the first-class passengers.
 
The VIA train for Toronto is ready to start at the Vancouver station.
   
(L) Train conductor welcomes passengers, providing a step into a vehicle.
(M) A corridor of a train and a compact dressing table in the cabin compartment.
This train steel body was made by a German manufacture.
(R) A final check of cell phone before the departure of the train
  
(L) A train is leaving downtown Vancouver. (M) A train crossed Fraser River.
A SkyTrain Bridge is in the left side.
(R) VIA train crossing North Thompson River, British Columbia
  
(L) Main observation lounge at the last train vehicle (M) The skyline coffee
shop (R) Kamloops North station
 
A dome-car is composed from the lower lever and upper level. Passengers
can have tea, coffee, soft drink and fruits.
 
A high-up scenic dome-car view: VIA train is running beside a lake in the
early morning.
 
(L) Kamloops North station.
This is the junction point of Canadan National ( CNR) and Canadian Pacific
( CPR ) railways
The CNR' passenger services ended in the western Canada in 1978.
(R) All Canadian railway stations are smoke-free.
  
(L) A dinning room car was full with reserved guests. All meals served
without cost for the first-class passengers.
(M) A breakfast was served after a menu was ordered. (R) A cafe serving
facility in a train
  
(L) Canada is a wide country. Canada uses six primary time zones. They are Newfoundland Time Zone,
Atlantic Time Zone, Eastern Time, Central Time Zone, Mountain Time Zone,
and the Pacific Time Zone.
(M) Senior Canadians were enjoying a friendly conversation at the rear
dome car.
(R) A small village in that the VIA train had a brief stop.
 
The train stopped for about half an hour. Passengers may leave train and
breath deeply a fresh air.
 
(L) A train slowed down while passing a railway-side fall.
(R) A train stopped at a small town, with the snowy Canadian Rockiy mountains
on the back.
  
A single VIA railway track line goes in the mountainous wooded area and
along the river stream.
  
(L) A dinning room car at a lunch time (R) A new observation car
  
Mount Robson, British Columbia, one of the most prominent mountains in
North America, with a high of 4,663 m.
 
Mount Robson viewed from a dome car.
  
(L) The interior of the economy-class vehicle (M) A woman was singing with
a guitar in a lobby-car. (R) A locomotive of VIA train at Jasper
 
(L) This map shows how the VIA train traveled through the Rocky mountain
area.
(R) A train staff cleaned the body with a high pressure hose.
  
A train arrived at Jasper station and unloaded passengers' baggage to a
luggage van.
 
A VIA train ticket and baggage tag
 
(L) The place of baggage pick-up at Jasper VIA station (R) Jasper railway
station
The VIA Rail Canada pass through the Yellowhead Pass, which is a mountain
pass across Continental
Divide of the Canadian Rockies. It is located on the border between Alberta
and British Columbia,
and lies within Jasper National Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park.
It was constructed
circa 1910-1913, and the trains of their successor, the Canadian National
Railway, run this route,
in contrast with that Canadian Pacific Railway still used the Spiral-Tunnel
route. At present, all VIA
passenger trains run through the Yellowhead route.
 
(L) The locomotive of the founder, Canadian National Railway is climbing
in the Yellowhead pass. It is 1,131 m high above sea level.
(R) The VIA train skirt the Moose Lake for a while, before arrive at Jaspar.
  Railway Trip by VIA Train
      
       
 Smoking policy: This Vancouver-Toronto route offers a smoke-free environment.
Those who wish to smoke will be able to do so during regular station stops
at Capreol,
Hornepayne, Sioux Lookout, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper and Kamloops.
 
This picture shows the railway truck of Canadian Pacific Railway and a
marmot.
 
An ultra-long freight train from Vancouver is now going to pass through the Spiral Tunnels in Rocky Mountains.
When British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871, it was on the condition
that Prime Minister,
J A. Macdonald would build a railway to link the province to the rest of
the country. Building
a railway across such a large continent was a major undertaking, and one
of the most serious
obstacles was the Rocky Mountains. Several passes were considered for the
route and despite
its rugged terrain, Kicking Horse Pass was chosen because of its proximity
to the US border and
its shorter distance to the Pacific Coast.
 
Spiral Tunnels
 
カナダ横断鉄道の一番長い区間がバンクーバーからトロントに向けて走るVIA寝台列車である。航空機で4時間
30分で到達出来る区間を4泊5日かけて運行している。日本では到底考えられないのんびりとした旅である。
つまり時間を全く気にかけない人々が列車の乗客である。そのほとんどはシニア層であるのは当然といえよう。
列車が駅に停車している時間も長く、アルバータ州バンフ駅で90分、マニトバ州のウイニベグ駅では180分の
休憩がある。街の散歩や軽食をとるには十分の時間である。1等は3食付きでメイン展望車にはいつでも果物や
飲み物が用意されているので食べ物を買い込む必要はない。旅のハイライトはバンクーバーからジャスパーまで
の雪を抱いたロッキー山脈、そして秋の紅葉に映えるスペリオール湖北岸の森林地帯であろう。
バンクーバー・トロント間、5日間の旅の最中に列車内での喫煙は一切出来ない。一日に2−3回、停車する駅の
屋外でのみタバコを吸うことが許される。日本のガイドブックに列車内に喫煙ブースが存在すると書いてある
のもがあるが、完全な間違いである。日本での考え方、あり方は異常としか言いようがなく、他の国では全く
受け入れられない。
1974年の夏にもロッキー山脈越えの名所、スパイラルトンネルで長い長い列車の最後部がトンネルに入る前に
先頭の機関車がトンエルを抜け出て轟音と共にすぐ前を横切るのを見ることが出来た。さらに今回は貨物列車が
トンネルに入る時から、全部の車両が出終わるまでをビデオに撮影した。現在はイベント列車を除き貨物輸送
専用の鉄道だが、その運行時間が不定期であり、いつ列車が通過するか分からない路線なので本当に幸運であった。
All railway trains should be completely smoke -free.
海外鉄道紀行
 イタリア鉄道旅行記 Italia Rail: Trenitalia
アイルランド鉄道旅行記 Rail Travel Ireland
ニュージランド鉄道旅行記 NZ Rail: Tranz Alpine/Scenic
オーストラリア鉄道旅行記 Brief Journey by Australian Rail
ボストン-ニューヨーク高速鉄道 Amtrak Acela Express/Boston_Newyork
シカゴCTA鉄道 Chicago CTA Rail
マイアミMETRO鉄道 Miami Metro Rail
ストックホルム・アーランダ急行 Stockholm Arlanda Airport and Express
ストックホルム地下鉄・近郊鉄道 Stockholm County Railways
Ｘ２０００の旅 X2000:Stockholm_Copenhagen Express
コペンハーゲン地下鉄・近郊鉄道 Greater Copenhagen Railways
パリ鉄道ターミナル Paris Rail Terminals
パリ地下鉄・近郊鉄道 Paris Metro_RER_Tram
バンコク・スカイトレイン・地下鉄・タイ鉄道 Bangkok Mass Transit/Thai Railways
台湾高速鉄道 Taiwan High Speed Rail
フィンランド鉄道、路面電車、地下鉄 Railways in Helsinki, Finland
インド鉄道・地下鉄 Indian Railways and Dehli Metro
ポルトガル地下鉄・鉄道 Portugal Metro, Railways
アムステルダム鉄道・市電 Amsterdam Rail
スペイン高速鉄道 High-speed train in Spain
バロセロナ都市交通 Barcelona Railways
ワシントンDC地下鉄・ユニオン駅 Washington DC Metro/Union Station
フランス国鉄の旅 Railway Travel in France
ドイツ国鉄の旅 Railway Travel in Germany
バンクーバー・スカイトレイン Vancouver Skytrain
カナダ・エドモントン地下鉄 Edomonton Metro
カナダ大陸横断鉄道・VIA Trans-Canada Railway, VIA
韓国高速鉄道・空港急行・地下鉄 Korea Train Express, Airport Express and Metro
シアトル・モノレール、リンク鉄道 Monorail and Link railway st Seatle
米国アムトラックで氷河国立公園へ Amtrak: Seatle to Glacier National Park
サンフランシスコ・バート、 ケーブルカー、市電 San Francisco, cablecar, tram and Bart
ドイツ、オーストリア、スイス鉄道 Trains in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 2013
モスクワ地下鉄 Moscow Metro
サンクトベルグ地下鉄 Saint Petersburg Metro
ロシア高速鉄道 Sapsan, high-speed train of Russia
サンクトベルグ・ヘルシンキ鉄道 Allegro, high-speed train between Finland and Russia
アラスカ鉄道 Alaskan Railroad
キャンベラ・シドニー鉄道 Railways connecting Canberra and Sydney, Australia
ゴールドコースト市内電車 Gold Coast Light-Rail
ノルウェー・トロンハイムオスロ鉄道 Train in Norway, Trondheim to Oslo
Narita Airport-City Rail Service
Japanese high-speed train 'Hayabusa'
Japanese high-speed train 'Super-Komachi'
 Smoking ban in the railway trains of the world
Canada
 Smokefree British Columbia Smokefree Alberta Trip to Canada 2011 Vancouver North Vancouver
Whistler Skytrain VIA train Jasper Icefield and Bow Summit Emerald Lake Lake Louise
Banff Calgary Edmonton Hospitals in BC and Alberta Tobacco control in B.C. and Alberta 2011
Ontario 2010 Quebec 2007
 大陸横断鉄道でカナディアンロッキーへ
2011年7月執筆
「禁煙席ネット」主宰 日本タバコフリー学会顧問 医学博士 宮本順伯 
★ This Web site is link-free.
The photographs were taken and the article was written in June-July 2011,
by Junhaku Miyamoto, M.D., PhD.
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