For ease, we ordered an accessible taxi this morning to transport us and Superbunny to Union station. Unbeknown to me, unlike the UK, the various train companies in Canada have different procedures regarding accessibility. As opposed to GO transit which we used to visit Niagara Falls where level boarding was possible at the majority of stations, VIA Rail requires you to book assistance in advance. As a result, when one went to buy tickets, we discovered that the wheelchair spaces were already occupied for the return trip. It transpires that, as of 2014, there is only one wheelchair space per train, hopefully this will increase in the future.
The method of boarding wheelchairs comes in the form of a portable lift as seen in a few European countries, simple yet effective…
Once inside, the carriage layout resembles the greatly missed HSTs in the UK. Although the wheelchair space has ample turning space, the trickiest part is navigating through the vestibules to reach said location. It is also necessary for the staff to strap down wheelchairs using tie down points for the duration of the journey which is different to many countries. It is debatable whether one would feel comfortable traveling alone like this…
Another downside of these trains is that the luggage area is rather small. This meant that Superbunnys had to be in the fridge!
After the 2 hour train journey to London (Ontario), we were greeted by ones cousins, who we are staying with until Monday. One will therefore continue this blog the day after tomorrow when we fly to Chicago.