Today is my train trip from Edmonton to Jasper.

I was awake since 2am, so I got up at 4am and had breakfast. I checked out at 5.15am and waited for the taxi to arrive. He was a little early which was great given it was cold and windy outside. I arrived at the Via Rail train station at 5.35am, and found the station didn’t open until 6am. So I stood outside all rugged up, anther gentleman was also there. There was a bit of a snowstorm on at the time.

The station staff must have felt sorry for us as they opened the door at 5.50am. As the checkin desk wasn’t open, I sat down and read The Economist magazine.

The train’s original arrival time was to be 6.22am, meaning the one hour delay was causing it to arrive at 7.30am approximately. By 7am when I checked my bags, the train was due to arrive at 10am, which then got further delayed to 11am. I wasn’t too bothered with the delays as I had water, snacks, reading material, on no big plans. I understood the issues that the Via Rail people have with the priority given to goods trains over passenger trains, there wasn’t much they could do about it short of building their own rails. I just hadn’t realised how many goods trains there would be, as there were some but not many on my previous rail legs from Halifax through to Winnipeg (although I did see some in the trip from Winnipeg to Edmonton).

During winter, there are two trains per week that leave Toronto for Vancouver. Each of my stops is along the way, and there are a number of smaller stops in between the major stops that I am hopping off and on at. The train trip between Toronto and Vancouver takes 3 days and 15 hours. So there are many places along the track where the train can be delayed.

At 11am, one of the staff gave an announcement explaining the delays and notifying that the train is likely to arrive around 12 noon. It was not far from the station but was on hold behind one goods train being refuelled and then another goods train that needed to cross first. The staff were really good at keeping us informed.

So it did arrive at 12 noon, the passengers who wanted to get off did so, and then about 15 minutes we started to board whilst the train was being restocked. I was first into the train terminal so was close to the front on the queue. When I got on, I had my choice of seats which was good, as I picked a window seat, to enable me to take some photos out of the window.

We started out of the station at 12.44pm, although stopped a few times due to traffic congestion. We ended up heading off at 1.14pm. The trip is planned to take 5 ½ hours, so we were due to arrive at Jasper at 6.45pm based on that timing. The original scheduled time was an ETA of 1pm, but subject to the delay issues.

About a quarter hour after we headed off on our trip, we started to pass Wabamun Lake, a very large iced-over lake that has some people out ice fishing, a variety of waterfront houses, yachts tied up in one spot that looks like a small marina.

Down the track we also passed the McLeod River.

At around 4.55pm the train stopped for a little while just as we got our first glimpses of the Rocky Mountain Ranges. The second (larger) photo below has heat from the train engine across the left half of the ranges. Disappointingly, we didn’t move off again until it was too dark to take more photos. But that’s life. The landscape along the way was so picturesque, there was so much to enjoy.

We got into the station at 7.45pm.

The delay looks to have been caused by at least 2 goods trains passing per hour, each one delays us by up to 15 minutes as we had to slow down and stop in a siding until they came past. Overall we were delayed by an hour more than was factored into the train schedule. So that adds up to approximately another 4 goods trains in the 5+ hours. Which must be good for the economy at least. And Via Rail staff were great and kept us informed. There was also free coffee and tea, biscuits and fruit in the dome carriages. I had a magazine to read and an audiobook to listen to on top of looking at the nature passing, so it was okay with me apart from not getting the Rocky Mountain photos as we got closer that I would have liked. I also got to get some good film from my GoPro so I look forward to playing around with that.

After collecting my suitcases, I caught a taxi to Best Western Inn and Suites and checked in for the week.