So as part of my adventure to Churchill to
spend six weeks volunteering at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre I had to
choose from two options to get to this super remote town on the shores of the
Hudson Bay- rail or fly. So whilst flying is much quicker than the 45hrs
scheduled train journey it is also 3 times the price ($325 for train return and
over $1000 for the plane from Winnipeg) so for the economically challenged we
choose the budget option.
I arrived nice and early at Winnipeg’s
Union Station and after navigating the current construction works found the
Luggage Counter so I could dump my bags and forget about them for 2 days. As it
was only 10am and the train didn’t leave till 12.05pm I had pre-planned to head
to the Forks Market which is about a 5 min walk from the station and probably
the nicest and closest place to find food. I decided to have a quick breakfast
at The Pancake House before picking up some baked goodies from the Tall Prairie
Bakery (you must try the Cinnamon Buns) as I knew the options on board the
train were fairly dismal in selection.
After returning to the station and waiting
around for a bit we finally boarded the train and pulled out of the station at
12.10pm and got 5 mins away before stopping on the outskirts of Winnipeg for
like 10 mins.
On board the train there was 3 main
carriages- a Sleeper Car (for the people who want to fork out more money to get
a proper bed to sleep on), an Economy car where all us poor folk get to sit
with plenty of leg room and not many passengers (maybe 15 people to begin with
and down to 10 people by Saskatchewan before getting a few more locals hopping
on and off for the grocery run to Thompson) and a dining car with only a small
selection of takeaway style food but they do serve alcoholic drinks.
The journey takes you past fairly similar
terrain for the first day of the journey with mainly just prairies and a small
section where you can see the Riding Horse Mountain Range in the distance.
Other than that not much except for a Mother Black Bear and her 2 cubs that I
happened to sleep through L
Having been on this train, I now understand
why it takes so long to cover such a short distance as the train seems to crawl
along at a speed similar to walking.
The train doesn’t stop very often though,
but it does seem to stop by random roads to let locals off next to there
waiting friends and families in there cars.
On the Second Day of the Journey the Train
stops in Thompson for a 5hr scheduled stop if it gets there on time. My train
arrived just before 3pm so there was only about 2hrs to make the 1km walk into
the Thompson to visit the Mall and stock up on goodies. Its also a good place
to buy anything else you may have forgotten as there is also a Walmart in the
Mall which is much cheaper then the one Store in Churchill. So just before 5pm
everyone piles back onto the train including many locals doing there grocery
run and tourists who have driven all the way up to Thompson. They also add an extra Engine on here cause its a long way if one breaks down.
After Thompson there are only 1 or 2 stops
before Churchill, so after a stop in Gillam the train has a long slow run up to
Churchill. This part of the journey is the slowest and bumpiest as it is very
hard for the tracks to be maintained as there is no road North of Gillam. So if
you get a little motion sickness then beware.
By this point in the journey it is Boreal
Forest and by 9am you should be in Churchill. My train arrived by 8.30am which
is apparently fairly out of the ordinary for this train.
Overall, it’s not a bad journey, just
remember to take plenty of food on board as the dining car serves only Microwave
meals but you can get them to give you hot water and they will Microwave stuff
for you. Also, if the train is quite empty try to get a set of four seats
facing each other as this will be a more comfy nights sleep. And bring a Sleep
Mask, Pillow, Blanket and Ear Plugs cause otherwise it will be a much more
uncomfortable journey. Oh, and plenty of things to read and watch, and make
friends with people on the train. I would recommend catching the plane back
though if you can afford it.
If you want more information on this train journey and prices head to Via Rails Website-http://www.viarail.ca/
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