Canadian (train)

The Canadian (French: Le Canadien ) is a transcontinental passenger train in Canada, running between Toronto and Vancouver. It was introduced in 1955 by the Canadian Pacific Railway ( CPR). Since 1978, the operation is carried out by the company VIA Rail. The length of the route is 4466 km.

Canadian Pacific

After the end of World War II the passenger trains of the CPR consisted of a mixture of heavy pre-war cars and new cars in lightweight design, even when Vorzeigezug The Dominion. After several U.S. railroad companies had begun to use streamlined cars from stainless steel, the CPR decided to modernize its fleet. 1953 she ordered from the Budd Company of Philadelphia (now part of ThyssenKrupp ) 155 cars of the new, modern type, 18 of which as a panorama cars with oversized windows and its glass dome roof and 71 were carried out as sleeper. Shortly thereafter, there was a repeat order of 20 cars. All the cars were very tastefully furnished and decorated by renowned Canadian artists with murals. The trains were pulled by newly purchased diesel locomotives from General Motors. By 1959, few were even steam locomotives used.

The CPR christened their new " flagship" The Canadian ( Canadian ). The company was incorporated on 24 April 1955. Although the Canadian National Railway (CN ) introduced on the same day the Super Continental one, but until 1964 had only the CPR the coveted Panorama car with a domed roof. In Greater Sudbury, Ontario, the trains were each divided into two halves. While half went to Toronto, perverted the other half on Ottawa to Montréal. In the opposite direction, the part moves in Sudbury were combined into a single train. The trains needed for the trip across Canada, only 71 hours instead of the previous 87 hours when Dominion.

Despite initial success, the passenger numbers began to fall at the beginning of the 1960s. Due to the increasing competition from planes and automobiles (especially after the opening of the Trans-Canada highways ), presented the CPR a Dominion in 1966 and 1970 asked the government to the Canadian may also be adjusted. Although the request was refused, took the CPR during the 1970s efforts to withdraw entirely from passenger traffic. The schedule offered was reduced, and the government subsidized 80 percent of the deficit.

VIA Rail

On October 29, 1978, the new state-owned company VIA Rail took over formally the total passenger traffic of the CPR, however, did not occur until the following summer on under that name. The Canadian became the main transcontinental train the new company. It was supplemented by the former CN Super Continental of who was driving on a north running track. The Canadian perverse daily from Toronto or Montreal to Vancouver and vice versa, in Sudbury still took a train separation.

After the Canadian government had cut the subsidies to VIA Rail drastically, the Super Continental rode on 15 January 1990 for the last time. On the same day the route of the Canadian of the CPR line was withdrawn through Regina and Calgary and moved to the CN route via Saskatoon and Edmonton. However, this is considered to be far less interesting, especially in the Rocky Mountains and north of Lake Superior. The number of trains has been reduced to three per week.