Jasper–Prince Rupert train

The Skeena at McBride in 2001

The Jasper–Prince Rupert train (formerly the Skeena, now known as Trains 5/6, sometimes called The Rupert Rocket [1]) is a Canadian passenger train service operated by Via Rail between Jasper, Alberta, Prince George and Prince Rupert in British Columbia.

Introduction

The train operates three times weekly, departing Jasper on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The return service departs Prince Rupert on the same days of the week. The journey takes two days with an overnight stop at Prince George.

The train offers Economy Class and, twice a week in the summer, Touring Class service. Touring class offers exclusive access to the Panoramic Dome car and the Park car. When Touring Class is offered, Economy Class passengers are restricted from the dome cars; sandwiches, drinks, and other snack items are sold by the attendants at the passenger's seat. Touring Class passengers are served three meals per day in the Panoramic Dome car and staff offer commentary throughout the journey.

The train offers connections at Prince Rupert between the BC Ferries service to Port Hardy, the Alaska Marine Highway service to points in southeast Alaska, and a connection at Jasper to the Via Rail Canadian to Vancouver and Toronto.

Subsidy

According to the 2014 Via Rail Annual Report, the train has ridership of 344 passengers per week and an average government subsidy of $1.56 per passenger mile.[2] The average passenger pays a fare of approximately $81, with operating costs of $624, for an average subsidy of $542 per entrained passenger.

A significant portion of the traffic on the train originates with Jasper-based tour operators who offer a day-time package of a ride on the train, with return transportation by bus to Jasper upon disembarkation at Dunster or McBride station. Rail tour operators such as Rocky Mountaineer also include the train as part of various "circle" itineraries.

Scenery

The departure from Jasper takes the train past Moose Lake, before traversing Mount Robson Provincial Park with a view of Mount Robson. The section between Smithers and Terrace is said to be the most picturesque part of the journey along with the approach into Prince Rupert.

Stations

0 Jasper
106 Harvey
142 Dunster
174 McBride
217 Goat River
232 Loos
262 Dome Creek
265 Bend
285 Penny
301 Longworth
314 Hutton
319 Sinclair Mills
331 McGregor
341 Upper Fraser
349 Aleza Lake
378 Willow River
409 Prince George
520 Vanderhoof
560 Fort Fraser
594 Endako
650 Burns Lake
734 Houston
780 Telkwa
795 Smithers
869 New Hazelton
912 Kitwanga
933 Cedarvale
957 Doreen
967 Pacific
988 Usk
1007 Terrace
1094 Kwinitsa
1160 Prince Rupert
Via Rail Jasper–Prince Rupert (interactive map)
Station Distance (km) Information
Jasper 0 Mountain time
Harvey 106 stops on request, Pacific time
Dunster 142 stops on request
McBride 174 stops on request
Goat River 217 stops on request
Loos 232 stops on request
Dome Creek 262 stops on request
Bend 265 stops on request
Penny 285 stops on request
Longworth 301 stops on request
Hutton 314 stops on request
Sinclair Mills 319 stops on request
McGregor 331 stops on request
Upper Fraser 341 stops on request
Aleza Lake 349 stops on request
Willow River 378 stops on request
Prince George 409 Overnight stay
Vanderhoof 520
Fort Fraser 560 stops on request
Endako 594
Burns Lake 650
Houston 734
Telkwa 780 stops on request
Smithers 795
New Hazelton 869
Kitwanga 912 stops on request
Cedarvale 933 stops on request
Doreen 957 stops on request
Pacific 967 stops on request
Usk 988 stops on request
Terrace 1007
Kwinitsa 1094 stops on request
Prince Rupert 1160

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.