h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Jeff,

It's 11 years now since I toured round Ontario & Quebec by rail, but I have fond memories of it as the most civilised rail network I've come across. Your assertion that there are "several" trains a day wasn't really true then by European standards - I think it was about 4, whereas between similarly sized and spaced cities in Europe you'd expect a service hourly or thereabouts. There was talk that even some of those would be cut - was there a green revolution?

One last thing - does the ticket price still include packed lunch in a cute little plastic box? That was so much more pleasant than queueing for hours at a buffet car to be ripped off for a badly microwaved cheeseburger as happens in the UK.

There wasn't a lunch on it when I travelled, last August (1999), Have I been diddled out of something here? Was a very nice train though

I've just been from Edmonton to Vancouver with VIA Rail, on the 'Canadian' in sleeper class. Fairly nice, but the train we were on isn't the one in the brochure! Meals are very small, the 'Continental Breakfast' was a muffin (that's all), and they could have cleaned the windows of the dome car so that we could see out! I'm not saying it was a terrible trip, but at $600 each, they could make a bit more of an effort.....maybe we should have flown.