Well seems that travelling these days ain't what it used to be - especially using VIA rail in Canada! Poor Rich got the royal runaround yesterday after he had bought a ticket from Georgetown to Ottawa. Just before he left to head for the train station he got a call from the VIA office in Montreal advising him because he was the only passenger holding a ticket in Georgetown the train was not going to stop and pick him up! He was told he had to take a taxi to Guelph to meet the train there. For those unfamiliar with Canadian geography Rich was going east to Ottawa, Guelph was 35 minutes due west of Georgetown. After a $70 taxi fare (paid by VIA rail and make note here this company is being subsidized by us hapless Canadians) he was advised by the station master that there would in fact be no train and everybody would be bussed back east - an hour and a half trip to Toronto. VIA rail had to hire a private bus to accompany those bewildered passengers! After this stressful start to what should have been a relaxing trip to Ottawa Rich did make his train and arrived here safely. And what is most surprising, on time! There was a time in this fair land when the railroad was king (and a proud Canadian institution). When we lived in Nova Scotia the trains used to stop at all the small towns, including Bridgetown where we lived, and it was always on time. I can still smell the old station there and feel the sense of history that clung to it. Now it, like most other small stops in Canada, it is just a museum filled with faded photographs and mementos of a better time. The end actually started when VIA rail was established by the Canadian government in 1977. It was supposed to revitalize Canada's railways by becoming its first national passenger rail company but that was when efficiency and management were thrown out onto the tracks. For such a large country like this to have such a lousy train service is embarrassing. We could be and should be the envy of the world...Have a wonderful Wednesday. gws
