Wheel Adventures: Toronto to Halifax by Train
Channel: HackAbility
Date: 2020-08-15

In the summer of 2019 my family and I travelled from Barrie, Ontario to Nova Scotia and back. This is the story of our adventure. 

Barrie to Toronto
2.5 out of 5 stars- Passable
We travelled by Go Bus. The accessible lift on the side of the coach worked and it was operated competently and professionally by the driver, however, they waited until departure time to begin the loading process, thus causing the bus to be late. Also, I was strapped in to the securements improperly, so my wheelchair kept tipping partway back every time the bus stopped. 

Toronto to Montreal
2.5 out of 5 stars- Passable
We travelled ‘Enconomy’ on Via Rail from Toronto to Montreal. There are accessible options for rail travel on these trains, however, the ones available would have kept me separate from the rest of my family. The neat thing about some Via Rail coaches is that you can get little ‘pods’ of four seats facing each other, which is great when you are a traveling unit of four like my family. I love my husband and felt it would be cruel to abandon him with the kids to relax by myself at the end of the coach. As I can use a cane, my husband carried my wheelchair on to the train and stowed it in a luggage space right next to our seats, which were located very close to the doors. A wheelchair cannot fit down the aisle. At the layover in Toronto we got to visit the lounge and the kids were given goodie bags. We proceeded to spill the contents of them as well as chips and snacks all over the place. I am sorry via rail. We really did try to tidy up. 

Layover in Montreal
 When we arrived in Montreal I was delighted to find that a lift was not required to remove me from the train. I was able to roll directly on to the platform. It was universal design at its best! My delight was short lived however. As it turns out, Montreal hasn’t invented elevators yet, so we got to enjoy this journey to get from track level to the concourse. It was very, very slow. This is so that everyone in the station has the opportunity to stare at you. We enjoyed some McDonalds in the dingy hallways before boarding the train for the final stretch of the journey. 

Montreal to Halifax 
3.5 out of 5 stars
This was luxury. We opted to travel in sleeper plus for the overnight portion of our journey. We experienced attentive staff and beautiful accommodations, well…. I did. We booked two cabins: an accessible one for my daughter and I and a normal one for the guys. David found his quarters more than a little cramped. My husband is a large man and he shot this video to show me how he couldn’t use the facilities in his room with the door closed. He also shot this video to show all of you the space in my cabin. It was very adequate for my needs and would have fit a power chair easily. Although not shown and not used, there were tie downs available in the closet next to the sink should you wish to secure your wheelchair. The reason I gave this portion of the trip a 3.5 was because there was very little beyond my own cabin that was accessible. The rest of the family got to enjoy the dining car, the snack/lounge car and the observation car, but none of these places were wheelchair accessible and I was embarrassed to ask for the special ‘aisle chair’ and too nervous to use my cane on such a bumpy ride. However, my room was so much more awesome than everyone else’s and I received all my meals in my room with very attentive service, I really couldn’t complain too much. 

Arrival in Halifax

The platform in Halifax, like Toronto, was not level to the doors of the train. We had to wait for the lift to ‘de-train’. The lift used by Via rail is a completely mechanical one that is rolled out to the train and operated by hand. It worked.  After some lovely time in Halifax (which, by the way, boasts a plethora of very accessible playgrounds complete with Rubberrock, including one directly across from the train station) our adventures were over and it was time to repeat the process in reverse. The only difference was that we took my absolutely favourite form of public transit home. 

Toronto to Barrie
My absolute favourite form of public transit is the commuter Go TRAIN. With reasonable equitable access, a large accessible washroom, easy to use tie downs, friendly staff, lots of maneuvering space and places for families and wheelchair users to eat pizza together as well as an affordable price tag, I’m not sure that it can be beat!
Please note: eating pizza may or may not be allowed or encouraged on the train. 

And…. that’s a wrap for this episode from Hackessibility.