Canada’s train travel is highlighted by great food and an ambience only a well-appointed dining car can provide. Call it romantic or call it an adventure, travelling and dining on the train is a unique experience. It’s surprisingly relaxing, with none of the hassle of airports, security check-ins, crowded airplanes or general chaos that seems to accompany a lot of travel these days. There’s a sense of community – sort of a cruise on steel wheels.

Perhaps the appeal of train travel is the fact that it harkens back to an era when personal attention and comfort were part of the traveller’s experience. One can sit back, chill out, read, listen to music, enjoy the changing scenery, sip a drink and enjoy a gourmet meal of regional cuisine prepared by top-flight chefs. And train chefs certainly do stand out. It’s no easy task creating superb meals in the cramped, swaying kitchen of a fast-moving train.

Canada’s wide-open spaces and miles of rural landscape and wilderness have everything the discriminating traveller could hope for. And a variety of train trips to choose from. Here are a few of them:

Whistler Mountaineer
is an awesome three-hour trip from Vancouver to the world-famous resort of Whistler, with spectacular coastal seascapes and magnificent Rocky Mountain vistas. On the journey up to Whistler, a hearty breakfast is served. Then on the return trip, a traditional British High Tea. This includes tea sandwiches and fresh warm scones spread with strawberry preserves and Devon cream. There’s more. Light pastries and chocolate-dipped strawberries. All served with pots of steaming tea. Elegant and delicious.
www.whistlermountaineer.com

Rocky Mountain Express
If you’re not a fan of train travel or have never been on a train trip before, you’ll be hooked for life after a trip on the RME. Rocky Mountain offers a variety of trips through the Rockies between Vancouver, Jasper and Banff. Trips range anywhere from 3 to 9 days. The elegantly appointed dining cars (12 in all) are the essence of comfort. Like the journey, the food is memorable. With a dedication to region ingredients, it’s probably some of the best train-travel food service anywhere. A sampling of the RMW menu? Breakfast: turkey and sundried cranberry sausage, lightly scrambled eggs wrapped in wild smoked salmon with a dab of caviar and mixed-grain banana pancakes. Lunch: Fraser Valley baked chicken in a pumpkin seed crust and wild mushroom chowder. Dinner: Alberta AAA beef striploin and freshwater Pickerel. And a selection of out-this-world desserts, like honey-lemon ginseng cheesecake or a dark chocolate train filled with Bavarian pear mousse. Plus award-winning regional wines. More details at www.rockymountainexpress.com

Via Canada’s Hudson Bay
Via’s version of adventure travel through the rugged northern Manitoba wilderness from Winnipeg north to Churchill on the shores of sub-arctic Hudson Bay. Two full days (1700 kilometers or 1000 miles) through forest and tundra into the land of the midnight sun and polar bears. Good food, too. Although the menu on this train is limited, it is well-chosen and regional cuisine like grilled Arctic Char and Blueberry Pancakes are regular offerings.
www.viacanada.com

The Maritimes
Via Canada’s Ocean and Chaleur are two trips out of Montreal. The Ocean goes to Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Chaleur travels along the St. Lawrence north shore to Gaspe, Quebec. The on-board chefs have limited menus but there’s definitely a focus on regional choices. Expect Montreal smoked meat, Atlantic Salmon, Digby, Nova Scotia Scallops, Chicken Breats with apple butter and PEI potatoes to name a few. All accompanied by a good selection of wines and regional microbrewery beers.
www.viacanada.com