Five trains operate passenger service to and from Vancouver: Rocky Mountaineer, ViaRail, Amtrak, Translink's Canada Line and West Coast Express.
The Rocky Mountaineer offers service between Vancouver, Whistler and the Canadian Rockies; ViaRail and Amtrak trains offer service to all major cities in Canada and the US; the Canada Line offers service between downtown Vancouver and the Vancouver International airport and the West Coast Express offers service between downtown Vancouver and the rest of the lower Mainland.
The Rocky Mountaineer
The world famous Rocky Mountaineer Train operates from Vancouver from the last week in April to the first week in October. It travels to Banff and Jasper, in the Canadian Rockies, and to Calgary.
The Rocky Mountaineer train can be packaged with stays in Vancouver,Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Calgary and can include tours to the Columbia Icefield and glacier helicopter tours.
Rocky Mountaineer trains travel only during the day so you miss none of the spectacular scenery. At night the train stops and you spend the night in a hotel and then continue your journey the following day.
Rocky Mountaineer passengers, almost without exception, consider their Rocky Mountaineer trip one of the most memorable travel experiences of their lives.
For more information about Rocky Mountaineer train trips, see the Rocky Mountaineer Train pages, call us at 604-990-9299 or 800-913-9207 or email with questions or requests for more information.
If you're looking for a short, one or two day, train trip from Vancouver, consider
Rocky Mountaineer's Vancouver/Whistler Train Trip. The train to Whistler is available daily from May 14 until September 29.
If you're in downtown Vancouver, you will be picked up from one of a number of Vancouver hotels, and delivered to the train station in North Vancouver. The train leaves the North Vancouver station each morning, except Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:15 AM. The return trip begins in Whistler at 2:30 PM.
Breakfast is served on the morning trip and either High Tea or a late lunch is served on the return trip from Whistler to Vancouver. And when you reach the North Vancouver train station in the evening, buses will be waiting to return you to downtown Vancouver.
The train follows the coast along Howe Sound as far as Squamish. You'll see the North and then West Vancouver coastlines, then mountains, rivers, lakes, Shannon Falls, Mt. Garibaldi and Porteau Cove en route. Once you reach Squamish, the route leaves the ocean and follows the Cheakamus Canyon past Brandywine Falls to Whistler.
If you have more than one day, we recommend your spending a night or two in Whistler. The area is spectacular and Whistler hotels are beautiful and affordable in summer. You can book the Whistler train by calling 604-990-9299 1-800-913-9207 or you may email us for information and reservations.
ViaRail
ViaRail is Canada's national passenger railroad, offering year round train transportation between Vancouver and Jasper, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Halifax and other major cities in Canada. It also offers train service between Jasper and Prince George and Prince Rupert.
VIA Rail's classic trains offer several types of sleeping accommodations, observation domes, lounges and an art-deco style dining car. Meals are included when you purchase sleeping accommodations on the Silver & Blue Service between Vancouver and Jasper, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Toronto.
Popular routes include the 17 hour trip between Vancouver and Jasper, a four day / three night trip between Vancouver and Toronto, a four day trip between Vancouver and Montreal, and a six day trip between Vancouver and Halifax, Nova Scotia. ViaRail trains depart Vancouver's Pacific Central Station on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday evening at 8:30 PM. They arrive in Jasper the following afternoon at 4:00 PM.
ViaRail is located at Pacific Central Station in downtown Vancouver at 1150 Station Street, near the corner of Main and Terminal Street.
Pacific Central Station is half a block from the Main Street/Science World SkyTrain station where you can catch Vancouver's light rail service to downtown Vancouver. Trips take about 3 minutes and cost about $3.50 for adults and $2.25 for children. You can also take a taxi downtown for about $10.00.
For ViaRail train transportation and tour information, call
1-888-842-7245.
Amtrak
Amtrak offers passenger train travel between Vancouver and Seattle. This route is one of Amtrak's most popular. There are two round trips each day. The price is about $35 per person one way.
Amtrak departs Vancouver each morning at 6:40 AM and arrives in Seattle at 10:55 AM. In the evening, Amtrak departs Vancouver at 5:45 PM and arrives in Seattle at 10:05 PM.
The Amtrak train departs Seattle each morning at 7:40 AM from the Amtrak station at 303 S. Jackson Street and arrives in Vancouver at 11:35 AM at Vancouver's Pacific Central Station, 1150 Station Street. In the evening, Amtrak leaves Seattle at 6:40 PM and arrives in Vancouver at 10:45 PM. The local Seattle Amtrak station number is 206-382-4125.
Amtrak also offers one daily round trip between Vancouver and Portland. The train leaves Vancouver at 6:40 AM and arrives in Portland at 2:50 PM. From Portland, the train departs at 2:50 PM and arrives in Vancouver at 10:45 PM. The Portland Amtrak station is located at 800 NW 6th Avenue. The local Portland Amtrak station phone number is 503-273-4866. Tickets are about $65 per person one way.
En route, between Vancouver and Seattle, the train stops to pick up passengers at Edmonds, WA, Everett, WA, Mt Vernon-Burlington, WA and Bellingham, WA. Between Portland and Seattle, en route to Vancouver, the train stops at Vancouver, WA, Kelso/Longview, Centralia, Olympia, Tacoma and Tukwila.
Contact Amtrak for more information:
1-800-872-7245.
The Canada Line
Vancouver's new Canada Line offers light rail service between downtown Vancouver and the airport. This great new service operates daily from early morning to late at night. The one way train trip takes 26 minutes and costs 3.25 per person. Purchase tickets at the station.
At the airport, the Canada Line station is located just outside both the International Arrivals door. Come out of the station, cross the street and take the elevator or escalator up to the third level.
West Coast Express
The West Coast Express operates five trains during weekday peak periods connecting Mission, Abbotsford Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam and Port Moody with downtown Vancouver.
Trains leave Vancouver from the Waterfront Terminal which is also the Sea Bus/Sky Train terminal just east of Canada Place and the Cruise Ship dock.