The first time I took my sons to see the holiday train, they were small enough to perch on my husband’s shoulders. The CPKC Holiday Train glowed like a moving constellation as it rolled toward downtown Kamloops, the sky heavy with snow. Music poured from the stage car, families waved from behind scarves and mittens, and for a moment, the whole city seemed to pause, sharing one small stretch of track as if it were the center of the country.

That’s the thing about trains; they carry nostalgia in their wake and stir something deeply Canadian. Holiday lights along the CPKC cars cut through the winter dark, and the Rocky Mountaineer sends a gold streak across the Thompson Valley each spring. The sound of the tracks, the sweep of the landscape through the window, and the steady pace of the rail line all create a sense of time that feels rare in a world built for speed.

As local resident Brian Hayashi said in an email to the Kamloops Chronicle earlier this year, “Building a ‘steel road from the sea to the sea,’ as Gordon Lightfoot sang, is one of the reasons for Canada’s existence.”

From Holiday Lights to Cross-Country Lines

The CPKC Holiday Train remains a highlight of the season in Kamloops, drawing families out into the cold each December for a night of live music, community spirit, and charitable giving. Since its first run in 1999, the train has raised millions for food banks across Canada. Its arrival signals the start of the holidays and reminds everyone that the journey toward a destination can feel as meaningful as the arrival itself.

This year’s CPKC Holiday Train is slated for Dec. 18, 4:30–5:30 p.m. at the Sandman Centre parking lot. It’s a bundle-up, sing-along hour that turns rail into community. Bring a donation if you can; the giving is the point.

If the holiday train is our neighborhood sparkle, VIA Rail’s Toronto–Vancouver “Canadian” is the grand arc. Running 4,466 kilometers from boreal forest to prairie to Rockies, a four-night traverse that threads just past us on its way west. It’s the classic way to watch Canada slide by your window, unhurried and panoramic.

Hayashi has long championed this cross-country experience, reminding readers that travel need not be fast or far. “VIA Rail is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Canadian, the cross-country route that passenger trains have taken since 1955. Avoid the traffic and rush. Travelling on VIA is a nostalgic land cruise, and many (kind of forgotten) parts of Canada pop back into reality: the Fraser Canyon, Ashcroft, Kamloops Lake, Mount Robson, Jasper, Saskatoon, Sudbury, just to name a few,” he shared.

Luxury on the Rails

Closer to home, the Rocky Mountaineer’s glass-domed coaches capture every shimmer of light off the Thompson River and every snow-dusted peak along the way. Travelers dine on regional cuisine and listen as onboard hosts share stories about the canyons and peaks that line the journey. The city serves as a midpoint along the journey where passengers enjoy an overnight stop before continuing toward Banff or Vancouver.

The service has become a showcase for Western Canada’s geography and hospitality. Multi-day routes such as First Passage to the West and Journey Through the Clouds highlight the country’s vastness without haste. Every curve of the rail reveals another layer of terrain, from sagebrush desert to alpine forest. For residents of Kamloops, the Rocky Mountaineer remains a familiar sight from April through autumn, gliding along the Thompson River in gold and blue.

Why Rail Travel Endures

Railways shaped Kamloops long before modern highways. The call of a passing train still echoes through the valley to remind residents of the connection between this place and the wider country. Each December, the Holiday Train brightens the rails. When the season shifts toward warmer days, the Rocky Mountaineer moves visitors toward the mountains. Throughout the year, VIA Rail maintains the line that links Kamloops to the rest of Canada.

As another year winds down, the sound of a whistle cutting through the night feels both nostalgic and hopeful. The magic of travel reminds us that a new horizon always waits just beyond the curve.