Rolling with Sarah

We decided to take the train (Via Rail) up to the ACCESS Annual Meeting this past week. I went from the Brockville Station. We were lucky when the train came that it was one of the new ones. This meant an automatic lift incorporated right on the train rather than the old hand crank life of the past. Much easier for everyone involved.

When aboard, we were taken to our seats. I stayed in my chair for the journey. To my surprise, there were no tie-downs. They simply told me to put on my brakes and that was it. This didn’t make me too comfortable. I spent at least the first twenty minutes of the ride holding on white knuckled to the table in front of me, fearing moving. I don’t know what you would do if your brakes weren’t the best or needed service. A simple tie down system would definitely be safer in my eyes. I did eventually get used to it, but was never 100% comfortable.

The ride itself was uneventful. One interesting thing was that the emergency window was located where the accessible seats were. We were given the rundown of what to do if we had to evacuate. My Mom was to put me to the side and help other passengers while I would go last with the crew. Not sure how I felt about this. I don’t think people who require help themselves should be given this responsibility.

We arrived pretty much on time in Toronto. We were last to get of the train. The automatic lift made unloading much quicker.

On the way home, we ended up switching to an earlier train. It was the same deal going back. New train, no tie downs. Once again, I couldn’t get totally at ease. We were preboarded, so I could get onboard without having to delay other passengers. The train was a little late but not too bad.

A nice surprise was that one of my doctors was on the same train home and in the same car. When she realized there was an empty seat beside my mother, she came to chat. It was so nice to catch up to her. She is one of the reasons I am here today.

We arrived home safely in Brockville, although a little behind schedule. You always want to make sure you leave a time buffer when it comes to Via Rail. It’s been a while since I took the train, but all in all it worked for t]well for this journey. I hope they consider adding tie downs to the newer trains as it can be nerve racking for clients who stay in their chair to feel like they aren’t secured.