Chaleur and Ocean

Via rail website says that the Chaleur service between Matapédia and Gaspé is expected to resume on Sept 10th.

I am planning to take the Chaleur on 21st sept. Is it worth the risk ? What are the chances of being switched to a bus service for a portion of the route ? That would be a big let down.

Will it still be on a separate schedule by that time? I've always lucked out on this train, when it has run for its entire route without rails or bridges being washed out etc. I know this route is often vulnerable to heavy rains that affect the line (hence the bridge washout). I would think after the "bridge fix" that was done, you should have a pretty good shot at getting out to Gaspe, especially if it is running as a separate train from the Ocean, which it was supposed to do through September.

Related but indirectly: I plan to take the Ocean from Toronto to Halifax in late November. With a 1630 scheduled arrival, am I crazy to buy a plane ticket departing Halifax Airport (don't ask why) for 2035? I'd prefer to fly out that night but could stay over and leave next morning if necessary.

Who knows what VIA's on-time performance may be by November, especially in the east, but right now it's not very good. Personally I wouldn't risk a same-day connection with any long-distance VIA train. Last summer I persuaded a friend who was bound for Newfoundland to take the Ocean to Halifax and fly from there. I had suggested that if the train was very late she be prepared to leave the Ocean at Truro and take an expensive taxi ride to Halifax Airport. Well, the train was four hours late into Truro, so she detrained there and made the flight by 10 minutes!

According to the summer edition of Vialogue, the on-time performance ratio in the east was 65% as of spring. VIA's definition of on-time is no more than half an hour late, which is fine. But this summer there have been so many disruptions in service and bustitutions that a same-day connection is risky, especially if the air fare is one of the usual ones where the fare is forfeited if you miss the flight. Cancellation insurance may cover the situation; most policies require a four-hour connection which should be OK in your case. I have an annual policy that is quite liberal in that a two-hour connection is all that is needed, but it's not worth the potential hassle so I prefer to cushion any trip with an overnight stay.

Due to that derailment and subsequent bridge damage west of Matapedia, that line is now also closed. VIA is saying on their Website that the first Chaleur is now expected to be on the 17th of Sept. Because the Ocean also cannot use that line, it is being re-routed through Edmunston. Passengers to and from stations that will be missed because of this re-routing will be carried by "alternate transportation."

Rather than running the Chaleur as far as they could, i.e. Amqui (which is not too far from Matapedia where the train has been running for the past five weeks,) VIA is not running it at all. Passengers are being transported by overnight bus service all the way between Montreal and Gaspe.

This totally sucks. I already booked my tickets for 21st Sept. I would hate to do the journey on a bus.

Vic wrote:This totally sucks. I already booked my tickets for 21st Sept. I would hate to do the journey on a bus.

As of today, VIA is still expecting to operate the Chaleur starting Wed. 17th Sept. If my wife and I get to Central Station on my intended departure date later this month and find we're to be treated to an overnight bus trip of 1047 km we will either be going home or to the airport if we really want to go to Gaspe. Flights can be pricey if not booked in advance, so it's probably home!

VIA also expects the Ocean to resume its usual route on the 17th.

Update: According to Reservia, the Ocean resumes its normal route today, but the resumption of the Chaleur has been postponed, yet again, to Friday the 19th.

While the Ocean is now back on track it doesn't look that good for the Chaleur. The September 19/20 version of VIA 16/17 has also been removed from their online reservation system.

I assume the Chaleur and Ocean now operating as one train once again? Has VIA come out with a new schedule, or are they just going to wait until the big change - that is the Canadian's schedule change in December.

I just wish the Chaleur would operate as a separate train all year long, providing an extra frequency between Montreal and Charny/Quebec City. Even in the off season, this could be a long train - especially around the holidays. I realize labor costs are shared until the train is split at Matapedia.

But would some extra revenue with the Chaleur operating as a separate train outweight the extra cost of the engineer(s) and fuel (if this is even a factor since any diesels operating with the combined train may have to be "turned on").

I'd prefer the Chaleur to depart around 5:45 p.m. and the Ocean at 7:15 p.m. Or something along these lines - perhaps even a two hour time difference between the two trains. Course it was nice when the Amtrak Adirondack could be relied upon to connect with the Chaleur or Ocean. That is when the Adirondack got into Montreal earlier. For a few trips on the Ocean I used to get off at St. Lambert to catch the Ocean out to Halifax. It would save me an extra night in laying over at Montreal, as one would have to do now. Recent trips, I've just flown up to Montreal to catch the Chaleur or Ocean, rather than taking the Adirondack.

It appears the Ocean and Chaleur will be running as separate trains over the Christmas period. According to the new schedules just published, the Ocean will operate as train #s 614/615 between December 19/20 and January 2/3.

IMHO, the best thing to do for the population that actually needs the service from the Chaleur would be to run the train from Quebec City to Gaspe during the day. This would probably be a great long-range DMU route (rebuilt RDC's maybe???) with the biggest issue being where to do the maintenance. The Ocean's timekeeping would be greatly improved as well.

Mike

From being a patron on the Chaleur, I've met a lot of people who use this train as a means to "commute" into Montreal to work during the week (often a Tuesday to Friday schedule) and then return via the Chaleur to their "coastal home" for the weekend or often extended weekend (i.e. Friday night to Tuesday morning). I don't think a day-time Chaleur is the answer (this would just be a long day-time train and perhaps another nail in the coffin for those in the Maritimes to deal with after losing their RDC and other local service back in 1990). This train can really swell up with passengers at times, so it would definitely need a fleet of coaches. Therefore I think it would still be best operated as an overnight train. From Matapedia out to Gaspe (the peninsula) it covers that route largely in daylight or semi-passenger friendly hours, which I think is most important.

It's often the splitting and combining of the Ocean and Chaleur at Matapedia that causes delay (and one train often waiting for the other to arrive - largely the Ocean).

A separate Chaleur from the Ocean would seem more plausible - perhaps pushing the departure time of the Chaleur to 17:45 or 18:00 and the Ocean to 19:00. The Chaleur could be more of the "local train" between Montreal and Charny (as needed), while the Ocean runs more on an express schedule. Just having the trains operate separately allows for better time keeping.

oleanfuzz wrote:IMHO, the best thing to do for the population that actually needs the service from the Chaleur would be to run the train from Quebec City to Gaspe during the day. This would probably be a great long-range DMU route (rebuilt RDC's maybe???) with the biggest issue being where to do the maintenance. The Ocean's timekeeping would be greatly improved as well. Mike

Here's a link to a discussion we had here earlier this year:

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 59&t=50784

I'll be travelling on The Ocean in September 2012. Does anyone have recent experience in regard to how late The Ocean usually can be (outside of a more serious incidents)on its westbound run from Halifax to Drummondville. Many thanks Graeme from Melbourne Australia.