Montreal

Montreal – Gaspé train
The Chaleur at Gare de Gaspé 13 October 2008
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Quebec, Canada
Current operator(s)	Via Rail
Average ridership	24,000 (2007) 29,500 (2008)[1]
Route
Start	Montreal, Quebec
End	Gaspé, Quebec
Distance travelled	1,041 km (647 mi)
Service frequency	3 trains per week
Train number(s)	16, 17
On-board services
Class(es)	Standard and business class
Seating arrangements	Reserved Coach Seat
Catering facilities	Dining Car
Technical
Rolling stock	See consist description below
Gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Track owner(s)	CN QRC CFG
Route map Legend Distance Station 0 Central Station (Montreal) St. Lawrence River - Victoria Bridge 7 km (4.3 mi) Saint-Lambert Richelieu River 54 km (34 mi) Saint-Hyacinthe 100 km (62 mi) Drummondville 247 km (153 mi) Charny Shuttle to Quebec City 311 km (193 mi) Montmagny 371 km (231 mi) La Pocatière 439 km (273 mi) Rivière-du-Loup 482 km (300 mi) Trois-Pistoles 543 km (337 mi) Rimouski 572 km (355 mi) Mont-Joli 619 km (385 mi) Sayabec 643 km (400 mi) Amqui 665 km (413 mi) Causapscal 722 km (449 mi) Matapédia Ocean to Halifax 778 km (483 mi) Nouvelle 793 km (493 mi) Carleton Cascapedia River 833 km (518 mi) New Richmond 847 km (526 mi) Caplan 865 km (537 mi) Bonaventure 880 km (550 mi) New Carlisle 917 km (570 mi) Port-Daniel 950 km (590 mi) Chandler 967 km (601 mi) Grande-Rivière 984 km (611 mi) Percé 1,007 km (626 mi) Barachois 1,047 km (651 mi) Gaspé

The Montreal – Gaspé train (formerly the Chaleur) is a tri-weekly passenger train operated by Via Rail between Montreal and Gaspé, Quebec.

Schedule

The train leaves Montreal in the evening and arrives in Gaspé at about noon the following day. The train departs Gaspé mid-afternoon and arrives in Montreal in the morning.

Operation

In recent years between Montreal and Matapédia, Quebec the train is normally merged with the Ocean. The consist of the Montreal – Gaspé train in recent years is composed exclusively of cars built by the Budd Company, many originally used by the Canadian Pacific Railway's The Canadian.

This had been the case until 2004 for the Ocean as well, but the introduction of the Renaissance cars on the Ocean has resulted in both trains operating separately during the summer months (when trains are longer) and combined during the winter; the reason for this policy appears to be related to the braking effort of a combined train.

When operating separately, the Montreal – Gaspé train will run several minutes ahead of the Ocean. When combined, the trains run together as far as Matapédia, Quebec, before the Ocean continues to Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Montreal – Gaspé train proceeds to Gaspé.

Route

The following are stations served on the 1,041-kilometer (647 mi) route, listed from west to east:^[2]

• Central Station — Montreal
• Saint-Lambert railway station — Saint-Lambert, Quebec
• Saint-Hyacinthe railway station — Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec
• Drummondville railway station — Drummondville
• Charny railway station — Charny, Quebec
• Montmagny railway station — Montmagny, Quebec
• La Pocatière railway station — La Pocatière, Quebec
• Rivière-du-Loup railway station — Rivière-du-Loup
• Trois Pistoles railway station — Trois-Pistoles, Quebec
• Rimouski railway station — Rimouski
• Mont-Joli railway station — Mont-Joli
• Sayabec railway station — Sayabec
• Amqui railway station — Amqui
• Causapscal railway station — Causapscal, Quebec
• Matapédia railway station — Matapédia, Quebec
• Nouvelle railway station — Nouvelle, Quebec
• Carleton railway station — Carleton, Quebec
• New Richmond railway station — New Richmond, Quebec
• Caplan railway station — Caplan, Quebec
• Bonaventure railway station — Bonaventure, Quebec
• New Carlisle railway station — New Carlisle, Quebec
• Port-Daniel railway station — Port-Daniel, Quebec
• Chandler railway station — Chandler, Quebec
• Grande-Rivière railway station — Grande-Rivière, Quebec
• Percé railway station — Percé, Quebec
• Barachois railway station — Barachois, Quebec
• Gaspé railway station — Gaspé, Quebec

The tracks this train operates on have changed ownership several times in recent years.

Until 1998, the tracks from Montreal to Gaspé were owned by Canadian National Railway (CN). That year, CN sold the lines between Rivière-du-Loup to Matapedia, as well as Matapedia to Gaspé to Quebec Railway Corporation which established two subsidiary companies, the Chemin de fer de la Matapédia et du Golfe (Matapedia & Gulf Railway) and Chemin de fer Baie des Chaleurs (Chaleur Bay Railway) respectively. In 2001, CFBC sold the portion of the Matepdia to Gaspé line east of Chandler to Chemin de fer de la Gaspésie (Gaspé Railway) which is owned by local municipalities with maintenance contracted to CFBC. In 2007, CFG purchased the remainder of the line from Matapedia to Chandler after the CFBC listed it for abandonment. In 2008, CN purchased the CFMG line from Rivière-du-Loup to Matapedia, returning ownership of this line after QRC encountered financial difficulty.

See also

• Nightstar (train) the Alstom built UK rolling stock that was converted to "Renaissance" cars for use on the Montreal – Gaspé train

References

1. ^ Gagné, Gilles (20 December 2009). "Liaison Montréal-Gaspé: Via dénonce les manifestants" (in French). http://www.cyberpresse.ca/le-soleil/actualites/les-regions/200912/19/01-932690-liaison-montreal-gaspe-via-denonce-les-manifestants.php. Retrieved 2010-05-16. 
2. ^ "Route Guide" (pdf). 2009. http://www.viarail.ca/sites/all/files/media/pdfs/route_guides/en_montreal_gaspe_maj_2009.pdf. Retrieved 2010-04-08. 

• "Montreal-Gaspé train – Description". Via Rail Canada. http://www.viarail.ca/en/trains/ontario-and-quebec/montreal-gaspe. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
• "By Rail to the Gaspé, Via The Chaleur; A Return Trip in 2005", by John C. Dahl, Empire State Express, 2005. Published by Hamburg: Niagara Frontier Chapter, NRHS