Improvements my ass...

For those of you who know me, you know that I take the train quite a bit. I'm talking about the Via Rail train here, usually between Ottawa, ON and Kitchener, ON. Over the last year, I've been on it about 11 times, including today. Via has been undergoing some major renovations. They're re-doing stations and the train cars amongst other things. It seems like they've been doing work on Union Station in Toronto for forever now. But the thing that I'm annoyed about, is their new cars.

They keep posting updates, talking about all the wonderful changes to their cars, to make them more accessible and comfortable. I'm convinced they're fibbing. Out of the last 11 trips on the train, I've managed to score a "newer" car once. And that was going between Ottawa and Montreal. My good friend Cameron and his wife came to Ontario from Calgary at Christmas. They took the train. They also took the train down to Toronto to visit family. They managed to score new cars several times. WTF??? I never get the new damn cars. In fact, in June I got one of Via's oldest cars (and least comfortable) for the whole trip and then I got the same damn old style again today to Toronto!!

It makes no sense to me. For the 1.5 hour ride, I managed to get one of the pretty new(er) cars but for the 5 hour ride I get old and uncomfortable? Jesus Christ VIA!!!! No wonder you're losing money. If that had been my first time on a train, I wouldn't be in any hurry to ride one again. The least they could do is lower fares (it's peak season so they're all higher now). And given the frequency they've been having seat sales, I'm thinking they're having a hard time getting riders. My train to Toronto was pretty packed today though.

I wonder if they'll actually do anything if I email VIA? I'm a pretty loyal customer and I'm not happy. I can't say that they're known for their customer service either. I think it all depends on the crew you get on the train. The head guy on the train to Toronto today wasn't very friendly, but the lady on the train to Kitchener was great. Hit and miss.

Ok. That vent is out of the way. Thanks to Cam for coming up with the topic. Even with the uncomfrotable seats, my trip was good. My morning was a little rough as I discovered that I lost my bus pass at some point yesterday evening. Thankfully, I discovered that before I hauled my suitcase out to the bus stop. My trip was pretty uneventful. There were lots of families on the trains with very young children but I had my iPod so I was ok. My trains were also on time, so that made my 24 minute connection a very smooth one. According to my mom, my parents were almost late getting to the train station to pick me up and she's blaming my dad. Dad's defence was "I pulled in before the train did". LOL. Looking down the platform and seeing them there totally made my day. It really is one of the greatest feelings in the world.

We've got my step-nephew coming over for a visit and sleep over tomorrow. He and my dad are planning to camp out in the yard or basement, depending on the weather. I think I'm planning on kidnapping my mom and having her take me shopping. One of my favourite stores has denim on for 50% off, tomorrow only :) I'm going to need to be well rested for tomorrow, that's for sure.

It's been a long day, but a good one and I'm very happy to be home.

Good Night!

Sarah

Photo my mom took a couple of summers ago. This is from their backyard.