In July I took the train from Toronto to Montreal. It was a bit depressing and my Swedish companion laughed at it. It had old-style carbon copy credit card machines, dated decor, and it went very slowly. The Copenhagen-Stockholm line was probably like this in 1985.
THAT SAID
Canada isn't Northern Europe, train travel is a niche thing, and funding VIA is a political hot potato for a lot of reasons. You need to factor these things in. It was still a good way to get to Montreal.
HOWEVER
What's with the boarding process? Ordinarily, the train pulls into the station and passengers board their car through one of its two doors. Passengers wait on the platform and stand in the area where their car is likely to arrive. This means that hundeds of people can board at once, and it doesn't take a long time because those, say, 200 people are using 20 doors strung along 10 cars.
This is a picture of the station in Hamburg, and you can see there is space to board all up and down the trains:
When the ride begins a guy comes down the aisle and checks your ticket.
In Toronto and Montreal, though, they did this thing where it was like a plane. You waited at a gate in the station and then they boarded you through a single door, checking your ticket at said door.
Once through the door you got onto the platform, found your car, and got in.
Is this just a strange Canadian thing? I have never used trains in Asia or anything, but in Europe they don't do it this way. When I lived in Canada I didn't notice it because I wasn't used to taking trains.
It doesn't work very well and it doesn't play to the strengths of trains or train travel.
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