Broadcast News (BN – Canada)

VANCOUVER — They’re coming from San Diego, Sacramento, Portland and Seattle.

U.S. seniors are on a train heading to Vancouver looking for relief from skyrocketing drug costs.

About 20 riders boarded the train — they’ve dubbed the R-x Express — yesterday in Los Angeles.

Jerry Flanagan is with the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, the group that spent $25,000 to charter the train.

He says the foundation wants to help the train riders save money — some up to nearly two-thousand dollars for three months worth of prescriptions.

However the trip is symbolic and intended to put pressure on U-S federal and state governments.

In Canada, due to government price controls, certain pharmaceuticals cost less than a quarter of the price in the States.