‘Trip of a lifetime’: This 45-hour train journey passes forests, tundra and Northern Lights

14.10.2024 - 21:20 / euronews.com

The setting sun backlights a pristine array of pines of different sizes and species. Far northern Canadian countryside rolls by at a leisurely pace of a train ride, viewed through a glass-enclosed upper deck of a special observation car.

Waves of green and brown in slightly varying shades sweep by. There’s no working wifi to interrupt with emails or social media demanding attention.

It's mesmerising and calming. Two or three hours pass peacefully without notice.

Now repeat. Repeat again. And again. Two hours becomes two days.

To get between Churchill, Manitoba, Canada - the polar bear and beluga whale capital of the world and a tourist hot spot for northern adventure tourism - and Winnipeg, Manitoba, there are only two options.

The first is a $1,100 (€734) one-way plane flight that takes two-and-a-half hours. The second is a scenic 45-hour to 49-hour, $200 (€133) train ride. It offers a journey like few others, billed by Canada’s VIA railroad as a “scenic adventure”.

It starts with a vista of the treeless but not quite barren tundra, then powers through hours of tall forests. They eventually give way to more manicured cropland with the occasional animal, even a herd of elk. Sunset glimmers off a lake.

When night comes it holds the hope of a Northern Lights sighting stretching all around. If there are no glimmering auroras, there's a special beauty in the pitch black outside with only the lights of the train interrupting.

And it goes on for 1,697 kilometres. There are 10 listed stops en route with some only for a few minutes and others a few hours.

While it's promoted for tourism, the train is actually a lifeline for the town of Churchill. The community has roads inside town and for a few miles to the outskirts, but no roads go to other cities. So it's expensive flying or an overnight train ride at a more reasonable price.

The semi-weekly trains bring tourists, residents, mail, food, fuel and other necessities.

From May 2017 to October 2018, part of the rail line washed out because of storms and poor maintenance, stranding an entire community.

Staples had to be delivered by air and propane fuel was brought in by ship through the Hudson Bay. Prices in town skyrocketed and lawsuits were filed over who was responsible for the repair costs.

“We had no rail service for about 18 months meaning Churchilleans couldn’t go out by rail to visit their families in other parts of Manitoba,” Churchill Mayor Mike Spence said. “It was devastating.”

The town and some First Nations in the area took over the rail line and it’s back to operating. Spence said with the community pouring tens of millions of dollars into repairs the lines should stay open even as the world's weather gets more extreme.

Sleeper berths are available on the