Montreal – Gaspé train

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 12 in)
Track owner(s) CN
QRC
CFG

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

Contents

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]

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.

References