The trip between French Canada's two largest cities takes a little over three hours with stops at Charny, Drummondville, Saint-Hyacinthe, Saint-Lambert and Sainte-Foy. While the WiFi service can be a bit spotty (just like Amtrak!), the train cars are clean and the chairs are comfortable with lots of leg room and big windows to watch the Quebec scenery go by . The service is typically Canadian friendly as instead of a cafe car as on Amtrak, the food and beverage is delivered airline-style directly to your seat.
The châteauesque design of Quebec City's historic train station is similar to the Château Frontenac. The station was built in 1915 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and is well worth a look around at the intricate details at this magnificent rail destination.
Here are photos of the Montreal-Quebec City rail ride:
August 8, 2013 -- The trip began in Washington, D.C. where I boarded the BoltBus intercity bus service for the four hour plus ride to midtown Manhattan. I stayed with family in Battery Park City for the night and early the next morning took the subway to Penn Station to get ready for the 11-hour, 381 mile (613 km) train ride through New York State and Quebec Province to Montreal.
Penn Station is always a chaotic scene with lines criss-crossing each other, confused passengers navigating the dank, dark corridors and riders scrambling to rush to their gate minutes before their train arrives once the gate is announced on the big board before they have to cram single file into one small escalator. The scene was no different as we waited in line to show our passports for the Canadian check-in to board Amtrak Adirondack train number 69.
The other observation I noticed was how militarized Penn Station still is a full 12 years after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. National Guard troops with weapons and K-9 dogs patrolled the station looking for suspicious packages or behavior. There had been a recent terrorist threat abroad that forced the closure of many U.S. embassies so it could have been related to that.
Thankfully a new 21st century high-speed rail hub is being planned to replace the old Penn Station.
Once on the train I sat next to a gentleman from Perth, Australia who was traveling around the States and Canada. We chatted for much of the trip which made the 11 hours go by faster. We also took lots of pictures on one of the most scenic train rides in the entire world. The route travels through the Hudson Valley and Adirondack Mountains and provides spectacular views of the mighty Hudson River and Lake Champlain where the train winds its way high above the massive body of water separating New York from Vermont.
I walked to the dining car where I talked to a professional photographer returning to Montreal from a photo shoot assignment in New York. She took a ton of pictures of the passing scenery.
In the state capital of Albany the train switches engines, which offers a chance for passengers to walk around the platform to stretch the legs and watch the engine change up close.
Amtrak does not own the right of way on most of the track along its Adirondack route so the service suffers from a high rate of delays and poor on time arrival. I experienced this first hand after a 20-minute delay just south of Plattsburgh, New York to allow a southbound Canadian Pacific Railway freight train to pass because CPR operates that section of track. The conductor explained the predicament in a resigned voice to the passengers. He must be used to these daily inconveniences.
We were also held up at the U.S.-Canadian border by a surprise security check at Rouses Point, New York. In addition to the routine check of our passports, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Field Operations Officers conducted a full baggage search with bomb-sniffing K-9 dogs as all passengers from each car were made to move back to the dining car while the extensive search was going on. After the long delay, the conductor apologized for the unusual outgoing U.S. inspection.
It was a relief when we finally crossed over into Canadian territory. We were welcomed by the much friendlier and less armed Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers. The border agent asked me a bunch of questions including where I was from, my profession and my reason for visiting the Great White North. He obviously liked my answers because he didn't even bother to stamp my passport.
The first thing I noticed as we rolled ahead into the Quebec countryside was how neat and orderly everything was compared to the New York State side of the border. The farmland was spectacular with picture postcard silos, barns and country houses framed against the setting summer sun. The scenery reminded me a lot of my train travels through the French countryside, except in France the scenery passed much faster since I was on a TGV high-speed train traveling at speeds up to 200 mph (322 km/h), whereas in Quebec I was riding the slow train at speeds of 60 to 70 mph (97 to 113 km/h).
After passing the Montreal Canadiens practice facility in Brossard and making a stop in St. Lambert, we crossed the mighty St. Lawrence River at dusk with the shimmering Montreal skyline guiding us to our final destination -- La Belle Ville, The Beautiful City.
July 17, 2011 -- I took a Deutsche Bahn InterCity-Express train from Brussels to Berlin with a transfer in Cologne. The train makes intermediate stops at Liege and Aachen before reaching Cologne. From Cologne the train makes intermediate stops at Dusseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, Bochum, Dortmund, Hamm, Gutersloh, Bielefeld, Herford, Hannover, Wolfsburg, Stendal and Berlin-Spandau. DB ICE trains travel at speeds up to 200 mph (322 kph).
The train station at Liege, Belgium is spectacular. It was designed by renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, who also designed the new transit hub at Ground Zero in New York City and the Chords Bridge in Jerusalem.
In typical German fashion, Deutsche Bahn wants you to know exactly how fast and efficient their high-speed trains are. The ICE trains top out at around 200 mph (322 kph) so my train was gaining speed at the time I took this picture. For Americans reading this blog post, that is 155 miles per hour.
As we sped through the German countryside I was expecting to see alpine houses and gothic cathedrals, which I did. However, I also saw gigantic wind farms with enormous wind turbines dotting the landscape. And it seemed as if every other house I saw had solar panels installed on the rooftop. Germany is obviously not the windiest or sunniest country in the world, but the Federal Republic has had a Renewable Energy Act in place since the year 2000, so this is the result of over eleven years of generous incentives for wind and solar power. It is impressive to see so many wind farms and so many citizens powering their homes with the sun.
That evening we arrived at the multi-level, futuristic looking Berlin Central Train Station. Trains are coming and going all the time on different levels, making it look like something out of the Fox animated science fiction show "Futurama." So cool.
Here are photos and video of my high speed train trip from Brussels to Berlin. Click here to see the photo set on Flickr.
July 16, 2011 -- After a night out at a local Swiss Cottage pub with some hostelers, I woke up early the next morning and took a taxi to St. Pancras Railway Station where I took a Eurostar high speed train to my next stop -- Brussels, Belgium.
The train zips you to Brussels in a little under two hours and travels at speeds up to 186 miles per hour (300 kilometers per hour). It was my first time riding a high speed train and it was an amazing experience. You literally feel as if you are flying on the ground. But while the speed is incredibly fast, the ride is also surprisingly smooth. The highlight for me was traveling through the English Channel Tunnel, otherwise called the Chunnel. It takes about 20 minutes to travel the 31.4 miles (50.5 kilometers) from Folkestone, Kent, United Kingdom to Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France. It is thrilling being 250 feet (75 meters) under sea level on a high-speed train roaring ahead at nearly 200 mph.
Eurostar makes stops at Ebbsfleet and Ashford in southern England; and Calais and Lille in northern France, before arriving at Brussels South Railway Station.
Here is video riding the rails from London to Brussels:
Here are photos of the rail trip from London to Brussels. Click here to see the Flickr set.
Solana Beach is home to one of the finest little train stations in all of America. The station was designed by architect Rob Wellington Quigley, and was built in 1994 to replace the depot in Del Mar, California. The main terminal is a real gem with a sleek, modern design and the platform is sunken into the earth, creating a surreal environment in which you feel as if you are underground but you are outside, just lower than street level.
The station is served by Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner trains between San Diego and Santa Barbara via Los Angeles and Orange County; and Coaster commuter trains between North San Diego County and downtown San Diego.
Here are photos of the station:
And here is video of a Coaster commuter train departing the station, heading south towards downtown San Diego:
The ride north from Solana Beach to Anaheim on Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner provides passengers with some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. In North San Diego County and South Orange County the train tracks are placed within yards of the Pacific Ocean. The ocean and beach views are breathtaking. At times you feel as though you are riding on the water you are so close to the Pacific. In my view there is perhaps no better way to experience the beauty of Southern California then taking the train through North San Diego County and South Orange County before the tracks veer inwards towards Anaheim and eventually Union Station in downtown L.A.
Here is a video montage of the part of my train trip with the best views of the beaches and Pacific Ocean. The video starts just around Oceanside and ends at San Clemente.
