Montreal–Gaspé train

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Montreal–Gaspé train
350px
The Chaleur crosses a bridge at Grande-Rivière, Quebec in 2010.
Overview
Service type Inter-city rail
Status Operating; service suspended east of Matapédia, QC (August 2013)
Locale Quebec, Canada
Current operator(s) Via Rail
Former operator(s) Canadian National Railway
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 sleeper class
Seating arrangements Reserved coach seat
Catering facilities Dining car
Technical
Rolling stock See consist description below
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Track owner(s) CN
QRC
CFG

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

Service east of Matapédia, Quebec, was suspended by Via Rail in August 2013, owing to poor track conditions between Matapédia and Gaspé.[2] Replacement buses between these two points operated until 17 September 2013, after which the bus service was withdrawn.

History

In 1907 the Quebec Atlantic Oriental Railway was built from Matapédia through New Carlisle to Port Daniel, and gradually extended until it reached Gaspé. Before that, inhabitants had to drive by horse or sleigh 180 miles (290 km) to catch the Intercolonial Railway from Matapédia to Montreal, a journey of four days.[3]

Schedule

The train left Montreal in the evening and arrived in Gaspé at about noon the following day. The train departed Gaspé mid-afternoon and arrived in Montreal in the morning.

Operation

In later years the train was normally merged with the Ocean between Montreal and Matapédia. The Montreal–Gaspé train after 1995 was composed exclusively of cars built by the Budd Company, many originally used by the Canadian Pacific Railway's Canadian.[citation needed]

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

When operating separately, the Montreal–Gaspé train would run several minutes ahead of the Ocean. When combined, the trains ran together as far as Matapédia, before the Ocean continued to Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Montreal–Gaspé train proceeded to Gaspé.[citation needed]

Suspension of service east of Matapédia

On 22 August 2013, Via Rail announced that as a result of Société de chemin de fer de la Gaspésie (SCFG)'s rail infrastructure problems (including rail corrosion and malfunctioning crossing signals), service between Matapédia and Gaspé would be suspended. Service resumed about a month later as buses were used to transport passengers until the track upgrades were completed. As of 17 September 2013, both rail and bus service in the affected portion were suspended, and no timeline for re-establishment was released.

Route

Train route (in brown) (interactive map)

The tracks this train operated on have changed ownership several times. 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 and Matapédia, as well as Matapédia to Gaspé, to Quebec Railway Corporation which established two subsidiary companies, the Chemin de fer de la Matapédia et du Golfe (Matapédia & Gulf Railway) and Chemin de fer Baie des Chaleurs (Chaleur Bay Railway) respectively. In 2001, CFBC sold the portion of the Matapédia-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 Matapédia to Chandler after the CFBC listed it for abandonment. In 2008, CN purchased the CFMG line from Rivière-du-Loup to Matapédia, returning ownership of this line after QRC encountered financial difficulty.

References

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  • "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

External links

  • Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ "Via Rail service between Matapédia, New Carlisle and Gaspé suspended" http://www.viarail.ca/en/about-via-rail/media-room/latest-news/66251/22-august-2013-via-rail-service-between-matapedia-new-ca (Accessed 26 August 2013)
  3. ↑ Marguerite Syvret, "Jersey Settlements in Gaspé" 1961 Annual Bulletin of La Société Jersiaise
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