Chaleur (passenger train)

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The Chaleur is a triweekly passenger train operated by VIA Rail between Gare Centrale (Montreal) and Gaspé, Quebec.

[edit] Service

The Chaleur leaves Montreal in the evening and arrives in Gaspé at about noon the following day. It then departs Gaspé in the afternoon and arrives in Montreal in the morning.

Between Montreal and Matapédia, Quebec this train is normally merged with the Ocean. The consist of the Chaleur in recent years is composed exclusively of cars built by the Budd Company. This had been the case until 2004 for the Ocean as well, however 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 Chaleur 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 Chaleur proceeds to Gaspé.

The following are stations served on the 1,041 kilometer (647 mile) route, listed from west to east:

• Gare Centrale (Montreal)
• St. Hyacinthe, Quebec
• Drummondville, Quebec
• Charny, Quebec
• Montmagny, Quebec
• La Pocatière, Quebec
• Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec
• Rimouski, Quebec
• Mont-Joli, Quebec
• Matapédia, Quebec
• Carleton, Quebec
• Percé, Quebec
• Gaspé, Quebec

[edit] Sample Consist

As an example, this is the train's consist on a day in October 2005.

• Baggage car
• Coach
• Dome car
• Dining car
• 3 Sleeping cars

All built by Budd.

[edit] References

• VIA Rail Canada
• "By Rail to the Gaspe, VIA The Chaleur; A Return Trip in 2005", by John C. Dahl, Empire State Express, 2005. Published by Hamburg: Niagara Frontier Chapter, NRHS