I haven't taken a short haul train trip since Mulroney killed off the local trains in NS. Ah, those were the days - summer job in Truro, hop on a 7:00 pm train Friday, a couple of cold Olands Ex's in the bar car with Capers and a short hop from the train station in Halifax to the Seahorse to rub elbows the other regulars.    Trains are great - 3 hours from my house in Kingston to downtown Big Smoke. Snacks on route. A good look in everyone's backyard for 230 km past towns with OHA teams. 

Anyway, I was in the land of my birth to go to the IT.Can course at the LSUC for two days. Had dinner with Chip and Jenny at this place.    Talked about Phil Sedor, The Guys at the Library, Blackpool and Kearney Lake Road.  Over all, however, Toronto is not looking so good.   Hotels are cheap and empty.   The homeless are as utterly abandoned as I have ever seen.   People running by me at 5:02 pm down Bay to Union Station to catch their 5:15 pm GO train.   My VIA train sat in Oshawa station for a few minutes as a GO train unloaded - a thousand people as one rushing from the train they rushed to get to, to get into their cars in the mega mall sized parking lot to rush to the traffic jam at the parking lot exit.  

VIA has first class and coach.  GO is steerage.