The Ocean by Via Rail - 24 hours in a sleeper train across Canada
Вставка
- Опубліковано 31 лип 2024
- Bonjour à tous,
Today I will be travelling onboard the Via Rail - The Ocean service between Montreal, Quebec and Halifax, Nova Scotia. A 22 hours journey onboard the most unique rolling stock in North America.
What are your thoughts on the Nightstar rolling stock ? It would have been awesome in Europe right ?
Enjoy :)
- TRIP INFORMATION -
RECORDED IN OCTOBER 2021
Railroad company: Via Rail
Train type : F40PH, Renaissance cars and Budd cars
From : Montréal Gare Centrale to Halifax
Time : 21h51
Price : 381€ - 432$
LINK TO THE NEW CHANNEL : Minitrak by Simply Railway / @minitrakbysimplyrailw...
Noki's Travels UA-cam Channel : / @nokitravels
- PATREON PAGE : / simply_railway
- INSTAGRAM - / simply_railway
- TWITTER - simply_railway?la...
- SIMPLY RAILWAY PRODUCTS : teespring.com/stores/simply-r...
Massive thanks to my following Patreon for their help :
Claudio Bickel ; Iwan Di Tullio ; Martin Haynes ; Cyril ; Laurent Gilson ; Louis Haywood ; D Austin Horowitz ; Thomas Alfred Roell ; Jos Bowmaster ; Captain Ginyu ; Beni Heiniger ; Andreas Konrad ; Greg Wenzler ; Christopher Style ; Dick DeBartolo ; Brian Sikorski ; Guillermo Franco ; Sandeep Ayyappan ; Nicholas Torres ; Peter N ; Claire Nat ; Killua , Nick Reed , Randy Dean ; Philippe Branco ; Erorus ; Tom Van Baren ; Ian Earle ; Robin Roemisch ; Hannah Slovek ; Michael Romero ; Fin Ross Russell ; Vel ; Benny AndTheJets ; Ciana Dassonville ; James Pickup ; Frederic R Merchant , Jeremiah Pettus ; Liz Wallace ; Roy Hunte ; Peter Sandri ; Robyn Jackson ; Jeanette ; William George ; Alessandro Anfuso ; John Michael Dornoff ; Trevor Key ; David Nayer; Fabricio ; John Christopherson ; Frank Schmidt ; RJ Avnet ; Linda Vainomae-Hoffmann ; Jeffrey Williams ; TJY ; Shane Edmonds ; Dave Ferrell ; Marcelli ; Joe Hoeft ; Browne Sebright ; Bea Dan ; Alexander S Zaytsev ; Matt P ; Yes! ; clearingrubble ; Charlie Myers ; Chris Roberts ; Ataka Grizzly ; Bill ; jpjh ; Larry Phenis ; Patrick Fox ; David Bonet ; Eric Schmidt ; John S Baldyga ; Will Ho ; Sam Couch ;
Stein Erik Paulsen ; Dennis Field ; Raging_lemons ; Geth Platform ; Kirrti K ; Alex R ; Daniel De Marta Ijurco ; Jack , Shawn Morse ; DiscoKazuma ; Benny Wong ; Amy ; Jason Rabinowitz
00:00 : Introduction
01:31 : Montreal Central Station
02:57 : Boarding
04:09 : The Nightstar
05:44 : Outside of the train
07:09 : Boarding the sleeping car
07:39 : Departure from Montreal
07:59 : Room tour
10:25 : Diner at the dining car
11:55 : Bed time 😴
12:42 : Waking up in the Gaspésie area
13:52 : Breakfast with a view
15:08 : Lounge car
15:42 : Mid roll ads
16:05 : Campbellton, NB
16:43 : Shower time
17:29 : Sightseeing...
19:12 : Lunch
20:15 : Moncton, NB
21:25 : The delay chicken box
21:51 : Walkthrough of the train
27:44 : The Chateau car
27:52 : Sunset in NS
28:35 : Trainspotter time in Sackville
29:32 : Meeting with Noki
29:52 : Renaissance coach
30:34 : Arriving in Halifax
31:05 : Conclusion and Outro
FYI, the reason for the "baggage car" (actually called the transition car) is to serve as an an adapter between the night star carriages, and the rest of the fleet cars since the couplers are different between the European and North American stocks!
I’ve always called this the interface car but transition is a better fit.
You could call it the "Museum" car, with all the info and whatnot in there.
I've always called it the adaptor.
No it's not
Lmao it has nothing to do with the stock market
My husband is a retired VIA employee, he’s impressed with your knowledge of the rolling stock, you got it right.
Hi Frederic. I'm a big user of the Ocean - have taken the train to Ottawa from Halifax (return) three times in the past three years. I'd like to ask you some technical questions about the Park car.
Love that via still has the Pullman sleeper's. I have never tried one yet. But want to really bad. And via getting you a chicken dinner reminds me of one time on Amtrak. We were on the Sunset limited. We were over 24 hours late, and we stopped somewhere for a few minutes. There came a knock on our sleeper. It was our attendant. He gave us each a box of chicken from Churches chicken. It was amazing. PS you now need to try the Canadian. I have done it 2 1/2 times. Loved it. The 1/2 time was Vancouver to Jasper and back to celebrate my mom's 75 birthday.
You sir an asset to Passenger Rail operators worldwide. You make videos that help form the base upon which the general public is returning to train travel. Your knowledge and easygoing style are infectious... (I mean that in a good way, not a Covid way!!!) Bravo, it's a joy to watch your videos. From Melbourne, Australia
tai deixei uma ordem se eles por o pé ai cumpri se a lei dai pega eles . #
A fantastic use of the old Nightstar coaches even though it actually nvr entered service back in the 1990s, linking United Kingdom and Mainland Europe. Now in the hands of Via rail in Canada, this trip report will be exciting!
12:38 he's already in new Brunswick there lmfao he don't know where he is
Yes, VIA Rail purchased them in 2000 and they entered service in 2002. Good value for money as they purchased the entire fleet for aporox 145 million vs their value of 400 million.
@@josephwong5755 The Renaissance fleet was a good buy, but they have not held up well to the Canadian winter. Much work had to be done to prepare this fleet for the Canadian winter as they were not designed for Canada's polar vortexes. Canadians prefer the old refurbished Budd fleet as they have held up well to the Canadian winter for over half a century. Via is considering dropping the entire fleet soon.
What happened to the Chunnel?? Was it abandoned because I keep hearing that Britian is "cut off" from mainland whenever there is an adverse weather event on the English Channel.
yes grap yo let's go grap for #
Gare Central in Montreal is underneath CN Rail's hq (who built the station). But yes, it is a pretty ugly station compared to the old Windsor Station a few blocks away which was CP Rail's HQ and Montreal station. BTW, we have "provinces" in Canada, not "states". I have been in the Renaissance cars, but never knew they were built for the chunnel. For a short time a few years ago, Via Rail ran the Renaissance sleepers overnight between Montreal and Toronto (the train sat both ways for a few hours in Kingston half way). It was a great way to travel between the two cities.
Central station has direct exit to the street in the pass. Then CN start to build skyscrapers around it and hide it from the street. All direct exits are now becoming underground connection. Nevertheless, the interior still have its art deco style.
The station does have (or had, as I haven’t been there for a couple of years) an attractive food court and it is connected to Montreal’s underground shopping areas such as nearby Place Ville Marie, and to the metro (subway) system.
The Art Deco style does make up somewhat for it not having an exterior presence except for the tracks heading into Place Bonaventure. Windsor Station no longer functions as a station but the building remains as a historical reminder.
The food court is still there and still very good. I had lunch at one of the restaurants there in mid-October.
@@jlelliotton, are those places mainly independent?
@Jim Elliott I heard about those overnight TO to Montréal trains and wanted to try them, but they stopped before I could. My commuting friends said they were great for business trips. They liked being able to have their evening in TO, sleep on the train, have a nice shower in the morning, and be at the Montreal office by 8:30am, then be able to have a few hours in Montréal after work to enjoy the city before heading back.
I live in the State of Maine. My wife and I just started getting our feet wet with rail travel. The Ocean looks like a good reason to get to Montreal to go on the this wonderful train journey. Many thanks for your work and amazing videos!!
Bonjour Thibault, merci pour les videos! I felt your excitement in this video! I come from a railway family, my grandfather and father worked for the Quebec Central Railway (Q.C.R.) and the Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.) . As a family we were very fortunate because of my father having a family pass we were able to travel by train all across Canada. In 1960 I was ten our family left on the “Atlantic Limited “ from Sherbrooke Quebec to Montreal and changed trains for “The Dominion “ at Windsor Station. While waiting in the station you could see the platforms from the concourse and see the passenger trains arriving and leaving. One train that was backed into it’s platform was the number 1 “The Canadian “ all in its shiny stainless steel splendour with it’s coaches, skyline, manor , chateau and park cars. Then “The Dominion “ with it’s “Tuscan Red” all steel Pullman coaches (2200’s) and also stainless steel skyline, manor, chateau and park cars was backed in on the track beside “The Canadian “ . The two trains did the same route but “The Dominion “ was more of a local train stopping at all stations while “The Canadian “ was a faster train and only stopped at all major cities along the route. It was a great way to discover our wonderful country, we took 3 weeks stopping off in different cities along the way to Vancouver and when we left Vancouver we came all the way back to Montreal nonstop transferred to “The Atlantic Limited “ to take us back home to Sherbrooke Qc.. I hope you will have a chance to cross Canada on VIA’s “The Canadian “ for me it’s the best way to see Canada. If you do have the opportunity to do this trip I hope you will be as excited as the kid with the backpack on “The Ocean” and a ten year old boy back in 1960.
Living in the UK, I never knew that project existed, would love an overnight train from Manchester to Paris! Given the carbon issues they should look at bringing in these types of services!
Looks fabulous, a shame they never entered traffic from the UK. An overnight sleeper service from the UK to Germany, Spain or the Netherlands is something I'd absolutely use.
On the bright side, at least they have a happy new home and serve Canada well
Me too
Yeah our sleeper services are kinda rubbish here, the UK just isn't big enough, so doing overnight to Europe would be great!
Railjet in mainland Europe are bringing back the sleeper train with the increasing hostility to regional air services. In some ways the Nightstar was ahead of its time and in some ways it was behind the times too. I think we'll see a Nightstar service appear on the Channel Tunnel in the next few years.
I agree and if Via Rail Canada some sets they are not using they can just send them back to Europe for ÖBB Nightjet London St Pancras to Wien Hbf via Aschaffenburg Main Spessart Bahn Koblenz Leuven Brussels Midi Lille Liège Aachen Hbf Passau Nürnberg Regensburg Linz Köln. My question is this are these coaches rated to run 145 mph 230 kmh. Because the sleeper train from Brussels to Vienna goes on two high speed lines Schnellfahrstrecke Köln-Aachen & Schnellfahrstrecke Hannover Würzburg via Lohr connector line when pulled by ÖBB1116 1016 & 1216 Taurus locomotives. Problem is going to be Ans Inclined Plane and Aachen Ronheider Rampe to which SNCB 27s DB BR218s 232s must be a sleeper train because one locomotive SNCB NMBS HLE18 isn't enough pull the combined weight of Nightjet St Pancras Wien & Brussels Wien Hbf.
Nice to hear you enjoyed your trip on The Ocean!
As a university student in Halifax in the 1970s, I worked on The Ocean for a couple of summer and Christmas vacations. The crew car at the back of the train had compartments like the one you show at 27:17 - very comfortable. In those days there were two trains (a day!) between Halifax and Montreal - 'The Ocean Limited' which ran pretty much on the same schedule as today, and 'The Scotian' which was slower, made more steps, and I think left Montreal in the morning. Based in Halifax, we would leave mid-afternoon and arrive in Montreal just after breakfast the next morning. We had the day off in Montreal and had to be back on the train by about 4 PM for the return trip.
On the journey to Montreal, the crew used to go to bed some time after Campbellton NB, and I have strong memories of standing outside at the back of the train racing down the Matapedia River valley in the dark, and waking up sometimes at night at small snow-covered stations in Quebec, all brightly lit up and frantic at 2 AM like a scene from a movie.
The song 'Matapedia' (Kate & Anna McGarrigle) didn't come out till years later, but always makes me think of this train trip.
"And we raced the Matapedia..." :-)
ua-cam.com/video/I8q9GeHUp2w/v-deo.html
That Valley is stunning! We drove through there from Quebec City back home to Nova Scotia a few summers ago. I would love to go back. I feel many Maritimers have never been through that area. It is impressive and would be amazing in October with the leaves in full autumn colour.
I thought it was called The Atlantic and cut through the US overnight before winding up around Sussex NB in the morning…
@@scrambaba 'The Atlantic' was a Canadian Pacific Railway passenger service that ran from the 1950's through the 1990's, but ended in 1994 - although CPR passenger service between Montreal and Saint John ran on that route through Maine all the way back to the 19th century. 'The Ocean' is the last remaining passenger train service between Montreal and the Maritimes, and was a Canadian National Railway service (now run by Via Rail). It used to run daily, but now runs just 3 days a week.
I have travelled from Quebec to Toronto in business class, and Toronto to Vancouver on the Canadian. Both were great experiences, now I want to go back and try this train! It's true, Via Rail staff are generally awesome. Food is good and you get free drinks in business class 🍷
Thibault, your excitement is infectious...and obvious...🤣🤣 I think this was your best report to date! Your presentation is excellent. Congratulations, and thanks for all your hard work! ☘
24:22 Via Rail calls it a Transition Car. It’s basically an adaptor coach to connect the Renaissance Coaches with the Budd Coaches due to them having different couplers.
Thank you for your explanation, and it really makes sense. However, my question is, does that not also mean they have to keep track of which end is which when assembling the consist?
@@HighHolyOne They do. One end is the European coupler and the other is the NA coupler.
I have done that trip many times in a sleeper car. The meals on the Ocean are absolutely fantastic 👏
Excellent review! A great discovery for a future adventure. I also appreciate how polite and grateful you are to all that served you on your trip. Bravo!
Great video, I'm glad you liked the scenery in Canada. I was in Canada years ago, and loved it, it was beautiful! Looking forward to seeing your next video.
Bienvenue chez nous! Allez-vous repasser a Montréal avant de retourner en France...? Your book arrived in my office last week... Deux-choses:
-On a des provinces au Canada, pas des états
-The last Renaissance car in your train is a transition car. One end was completely rebuilt to allow coupling to North American rolling stock...
Belle video!
Great report. Glad you enjoyed the trip. A few factual details:
6:05 - "livery .. still looks good". It looked terrible just before the pandemic. Rust spots and chipped paint. VIA took advantage of the service suspension at the start of the pandemic to fix up the cars.
7:39 - the French is probably acadien, not québécois (I can't tell for sure from the accent). The Ocean crews are based in Halifax, not in Montreal.
10:11 - all cabins have toilets, but only six of the ten rooms in each car have a shower. There's no extra charge for a room with a shower, so why not get one?
12:55, 24:30 - they're called provinces in Canada, not states.
15:08 - the removal of the Park car is because of the loss of the turning loop in Halifax. It was planned even before the pandemic and was not caused by covid. There's some chance that another type of Budd dome car, called a Skyline, may be added at some point, but that's not certain.
21:00 - VIA's first F40 was 6400. Wrecked in an accident in 2010, so 6401 is the oldest remaining unit.
22:48 - a second weekly trip will begin on Dec 8, 2021, and a third trip in June 2022 (exact date to be determined).
28:25 - Sackville, New Brunswick, not Nova Scotia. There is a Sackville, NS (near Halifax) but the train doesn't stop there.
29:55 - the main luggage storage space in the Ren coaches is under your seat. The overhead bins are very small.
He never shows if the toilets work. Maybe he should show some poop being flushed down one next time
6400 was yes via first F40, but was never rebuilt into the current form, with a separate HEP generator. It did get the Amtrak style rebuild, but was wrecked, in a major Accident. After 6400 was rebuilt, Via changed its mind on the rest of it's rebuild program, so technically 6401, is the class leader for this program.
Why and how Via lost the Halifax turning loop? Money issues?
@@he11ange1 The owner of the loop decided to redevelop the land it is on. VIA Rail doesn’t own the vast majority of the track they run on. Since VIA runs at most 3 trains a week, it wasn’t worth buying the loop, so they decided to have the locomotives run around the train and pull it in the opposite direction for the return journey.
Also, 8:40, in Canada we call them garbage cans not trash bins. 😉
OMG the nightstar coaches were beautiful! Solid, cleanly designed, uncomplicated. The diner likewise was beautiful. WOW! Thanks so much for this video!
Great video Thibault!! I still get excited riding trains!! Just like you!! Thank you for sharing. The delay didn't spoil your journey😀😀♥️♥️♥️♥️
Someday you need to do VIA Canada’s route from Toronto to Vancouver (or Vice-versa). Four days with scenery from the northern Ontario forests, the Canadian Prairies, and the Rockies.
My parents did that many years ago: trip of a lifetime for them, and watching this little “nibble” at Canada I’m now thinking of planning for a coast to coast myself!
DownieLive did a trip on that train. I want to see this channel do so in the future.
Going through the Rockies by train is probably the pinnacle of Canadian train travel.
What a lovely surprise to see that you were here in Montreal! I hope you enjoyed being in North America and being able to speak French! We are unique. 🇲🇶🇨🇦
I’m so glad you enjoyed your trip to Halifax. I have wanted to do it for years but other videos did not make it seem like such a great experience. Now I’m sold on it. The sleeping car room looked amazing. I travelled from Montreal to Vancouver in the 70s by sleeper and I recall it was similar but not as nice. And I remember seeing those roomettes with the strange curtains.
Thank you for the great video!
That is when you appreciate Amtrak's Superliner and Viewliner roomettes... Curtains do not provide security as much as a bulkhead...
27:02 These are what are known as "sections". Converts from seats to upper and lower berths. You can see the ladders on the left to access the uppers. Heavy curtains provide privacy. As has been said, the loss of the Classic "Park cars" is truly sad. Thank you for the tour. Cheers.
Yes. One slept longitudinally along the car and, in an upper berth, it rocked gently from side to side.
What you missed in the "roomette" is that each has a toilet, consisting of a vertical pipe directly through the floor of the coach (typical of all train toilets until fairly recently, actually).
Two opposing bench seats look painfully uncomfortable. So I'm imagining that four people sitting across from each other would have to divide up between 2 in the lower birth and two in the upper birth. Even though I know this is still how they do it on the Canadian, I'm very happy for the private roomette Amtrak offers.
Another great trip report. So happy that you included Canada in your reports from across the pond.
Thanks for the review as I am taking this train at the end of May! Thankful to have a review from a train expert!
So excited for this. Not only am I a Montrealer, but the Ocean was also my first long distance train trip to go to a wedding in New Brunswick back in the late 1990’s! We actually rode in the style of sleeper care you saw at the back of the train.
I use VIA for most trips in the “corridor” (Quebec City to Windsor) but the only time I was in a renaissance car was when they used to offer overnight service between Montreal and Toronto.
I always really enjoy your videos but this was one of your best! You could see and hear how much you were enjoying yourself and if am ever able to take a sleeper train it would be this one, thank you!
I am taking the Ocean from Halifax to Montreal next week in the Renaissance sleeper. Your video was a wonderful introduction, I hope it goes as smoothly as your trip.
It is such a shame the stock never entered service in Europe. Would have been amazing!
This is one of my "bucket list" trains to take, and thanks for your review!
I cannot wait to see more of the Canadian Railway services! You have a lot more to show us! 😉Great Video!
What an Amazing Journey! Thank You Thibault for sharing this Awesome Journey with us! I believe this journey to be 1 of your best! Regards, Joe
"Hello" from Halifax. I enjoyed your video. Thank you for your kind, and generous review of our rail service from Montreal to Halifax. Merci.
Well, this is great timing. As I write this and watch your video I am preparing to board the Ocean for the same trip to Moncton and I’m staying in a cabin for two with shower. Thanks for the great video and insight to what I have to look forward to. Cheers.
My wife and I took the VIA Ocean this past spring (2022) from Montreal to Halifax (return) and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The views were great and the service was very good. Meals were good too. The staff were very good as well. Book a cabin. We will be going again next year!
Thank you for this. I live about 10 miles from the Channel Terminal on the English side... I had no idea about this fleet, and that it was European rolling stock... you've ignited something in my memory that my late father told me in the early 2000's.... It would have been a wonderful fleet to go through the Tunnel. It's great to see it being so wonderfully used. A great video.
Thanks a lot for that video, I used to take that train every year when I was a kid! I did not recognized the room at first, but when you showed the Bud cars I remembered! We were always in those ones!
I also had the opportunity to chill at the park car, which was so nice and unique.
Merci pour m'avoir rappelé des excellents souvenirs d'enfance!
Merci, bien! Thoroughly enjoyed my virtual journey with you. Looking forward to more adventures.
I love your video and can't believe how smooth and quiet it sounds as you roll east. No shake, rattle and roll like on Amtrak. To bad the Park Car is no more, that is a classic for sure.
That Renaissance equipment sure seemed to ride real nice and quiet - I didn't hear a single squeak or rattle the entire video! The hallways looked a bit clostrophobia-enducing, but the very nice room easily made up for that. The food looked delicious as well and the Budd coaches look amazing for their age. Budd sure knew how to build cars to last, look at the cars on VIA and the Amfleet cars on Amtrak! The F40PHs bring me back to when I was a kid and they still reigned supreme around the Amtrak system. Another superb video by Simply Railway!
Thanks for sharing this beautiful trip. My husband and I did this trip 2019. VIA needs to bring back the PARK cars!!!
Great as always Thibault. I would love to take this route. Keep up the Great work!!!!
Merci! Thank you for visiting Quebec and Canada! Although it feels strange to read "Via" when we are all so used to VIA here lol. Hope you have noticed the train tracks in the word logo 😉
And of course we have Provinces, not States, absolutely enjoyed the video though and want to take a trip now!
So happy to see how much you enjoyed a trip in my country! I wasn’t sure how Via Rail would rate but I knew you would enjoy the scenery, Canada and the Maritimes are BEAUTIFUL. Btw in Canada they are called Provinces and not states like the US. So happy you came and enjoyed it! Are you thinking of coming back to do the Canadian route? I hope so, but I would also pity you 😂
I heard yall have a city or town named New Brunswick in Canada... it's crazy because it's a city in nj with the same name,
@@quanbrooklynkid7776 Probably find we have many identical city names
@@quanbrooklynkid7776 New Brunswick is a province, the Canadian equivalent to a state in the US. Moncton is a city in New Brunswick that was one of the stops on this trip.
@@dmbthegurl Vancouver washington is another example
ele e presa em canada 🤔e canabis 🤥🌿☘🍀🍁🍂🍃🪰🪴🦟🌱🦗🌷🧐🤠🚬#
Great video. Scenery was beautiful. Will have to take this journey. Well done!
Beautiful train and the video, as usual, was stunning! Would love to try this train!
Another great trip report. Definitely inspired me to try this train at some stage. Keep up the good work 👍
So interesting to see these coaches look somewhat similar to mk4's here in the UK. I was looking into info about the nightstar services last weekend, perfect timing! Great vid!
NIghtStar Stock was built on Mk4 design
That was an awesome video. Really made me want ride the rails again. The car looks great and so does the food. well done sir.
That was a good review, I really hope you get on the Canadian some day.
Great report! The Ocean is always a wonderful trip, and the delay eastbound meant you got to see a lot of the Matapedia valley that would normally be in the dark, so I'd say that's a win!
Re: the Chateau sleepers and Budd equipment - the Renaissance (ex-Nightstar) fleet is wearing out, and VIA has had to sideline a lot of the equipment due to ageing, corrosion, and some accidents that damaged a bunch of cars. So they don't have enough of that equipment still serviceable to fully equip the Ocean with all Renaissance cars. Back before Covid, one of the two trainsets was Renaissance and the other was mostly Budd equipment with a bit of Renaissance mixed in. Now that they have lost the turning loop in Halifax and have to run the train bi-directional, they have gone to this mix of the two equipment types. When the train is quiet they will just sell the 4 Renaissance sleepers and use Chateaus for the crew, and when it is busier they will add more Chateau sleepers and have them available for sale (they can be booked from now through the Christmas holidays). Most Economy passengers are put in the Budd coaches because the seats in those can be rotated at either end of the trip, so most will face forward. The Renaissance coaches are used for when there is a lot of economy passengers, and also when there are wheelchair users, as one of those coaches has better accessible space.
VIA needs to buy more Siemens trains and replace the locos and passenger cars of the Ocean with the new Siemens ones.
@@Neville60001 Via would be better off buying the Swedish or Finnish sleeper trains fleet than buying Siemens trains... This Renaissance fleet has not held up well to the Canadian winter...
@@ronclark9724, Siemens _is_ a European company, and the trans being bought and about to be used by Amtrak and VIA are based on the models Siemens uses in Europe and Scandinavia please stop being an idiot, and do your research.
@RoadhogTime13 Siemens is building the new rail stock for the Nightjet services in Europe - so they do offer an alternative. ;-)
@RoadhogTime13, there is no fraking way in hell or Hogwarts that _anybody_ - CAF, Siemens, Kawasaki _et.al_ is going to or could reproduce those cars, for _any_ reason; VIA needs _new_ passenger cars that will do the job, and needs to _stop_ re-using old rolling stock constantly (Jason Shrom, the founder and CEO of model railway manufacturer Rapido Trains, expressed this point in a recent article a while ago):
Riding the train in Canada is like stepping into a time warp. Via Rail Canada’s passenger car fleet is a hodge-podge of mismatched equipment built as long ago as 1947, and it is a national embarrassment.
In February, Via placed a bid for 12 RDC's - Rail Diesel Cars - that were
offered for sale by Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). These RDC's were built in the 1950's and were originally owned by Via. They were sold to DART in 1993 following the cuts to VIA by the government of Brian Mulroney in 1990. VIA placed a market-value offer but were outbid by a Vermont startup
interested in developing regional rail services in and around Burlington.
Via intended to refurbish the RDC's for expanded regional services in Ontario and the Maritimes. However, the fact that Via placed a bid on 1950's-built railcars in 2017 is reflective of a bigger problem with Canada’s national passenger railway. It is starved of capital funding and as a result its fleet
truly is ancient.
If you board a train in Montreal, you will ride on one of three types of
equipment. The newest cars are Via’s Renaissance trains. These cars were purchased from the United Kingdom by the government of Jean Chrétien in late 2000. The fleet was built for proposed overnight Channel Tunnel services and was entirely unsuited to Canadian weather and track, but as the cars were surplus they were very affordable. Today, the Renaissance cars are the most expensive to operate: Each train requires an extra non-revenue car to provide controls to the coaches; the cars are not interchangeable with any
other railcars in Canada; and the fleet has exhibited serious corrosion
problems, with many cars stored unserviceable.
Via’s LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) fleet was built by Bombardier between 1981 and 1984. The LRC's are in the final phase of a major refurbishment program, but this does not alter the fact that these lightweight train cars were not designed to operate for 36 years and counting. Many are exhibiting structural problems and will need to be replaced soon for safety and
reliability reasons.
The oldest trains in VIA’s fleet are HEP-2 (Head End Power) cars. These were built between 1947 and 1953 for American streamlines. They were
purchased secondhand and refurbished by Via in the 1990's without any extra government capital funding. These antique trains are not used out on
quiet remote services. They are used on fast intercity trains in southern Ontario and Quebec. Some of our nation’s busiest trains are 70 years old, and this is a disgrace.
Via’s mismatched fleet requires expensive duplication of skills and materials for maintenance. It may be a rail enthusiast’s dream to ride on a 1940's’ passenger car between Toronto and Montreal, but for a national passenger railway it is an embarrassment. Canada is the only G7 nation that has not seen significant capital funding in intercity passenger rail in a generation.
Since 2000, VIA has only received a total of $1.6 billion (2017 dollars) for capital investments. In comparison, the
United Kingdom spends more than that on passenger rail capital projects
each year, with work wrapping up in 2018 on a new, $26-billion passenger rail line through London. When Via received its last purpose-built passenger cars in 1984, China still had trains pulled by steam engines. Today, China has the largest high-speed rail network in the world. Canada has yet to build a single high-speed line.
A new fleet needs to bring standardization and flexibility to Via’s operations
in Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes, and allow expansion of services in western Canada. It needs to be reliable, and must thus be an adaptation of a current intercity passenger train product offered by one of the major suppliers: Alstom, Bombardier, CAF, Siemens. The supplier needs to offer a “build and maintain” contract, so reliability issues are the responsibility of the supplier and not the Canadian taxpayer.
Most importantly, a new fleet for Via needs to be modern and reflective of
21st-century Canada and its commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by providing fast and efficient intercity train service. It should not be a British hand-me-down or a rebuilt train from the 1950's.
ottawacitizen.com/opinion/columnists/shron-via-rails-fleet-is-obsolete-cant-we-do-better
Superb video Thibault! You could certainly tell this was a trip you really enjoyed, with great scenery along the way, the exNightstar coaches being great to ride & sleep on, & the excellent customer service from the onboard staff!
I'm in agreement with you, that for the exNightstar coaches age they still look fairly modern, which makes it sad for me being in the UK at what we could have had. Though it's great to see them being put to great use by VIA Rail, and being kept in such good looking condition.
This is certainly a trip I want to do some day!
Nicest sleeper train I've seen on these travel videos,ty
Fantastic info and trip! It’s on my bucket list. I hope you review the Via trip from Vancouver to Toronto soon. Thankyou! Also glad to see/hear the food was very good!
Thank you;- very enjoyable and worth watching. I'd really love to do that trip some day - it seems Via Rail actually know what 'Customer Service' actually means, unlike certain entities (here in Dublin). Nicely done, full marks.
First, just watched the Ocean and thoroughly enjoyed it. I rode the Canadian 3 years ago (before COVID) and it was fantastic: 4 nights and 5 days in a roomette (which had a sink and toilet but was slightly smaller than Amtrak roomettes.) The Canadian crossing was fantastic: staff great, food out of this world, with snacks, wine, etc, etc. A true luxury train experience. And now that I have seen your vid of the Ocean, I am definitely going to take it, as soon as all the COVID restrictions are no longer needed.
Great video and trip report !! Thank You !!
Thank you / merci beaucoup! I enjoyed your account of the trip.
Lovely! Now that I'm retired, I hope to get my old body out and have a few last adventures. This channel is inspiring...
Awesome review. I recently had VIA rail too from Montréal to Ottawa. This one is level up! Je suis vraiment heureux de regarder votre video 😇
The museum car! I love that train. I was just on it in September. Thanks for the memories.
LOVE YOUR VIDEO!! I USED VIA RAIL MANY TIMES WHEN I SPENT TIME IN CANADA SEVERAL YEARS AGO. AND QUEBEC WAS MY FAVORITE PROVINCE, WINTER AND SUMMER. LOVED IT!! ALL MOST AS MUCH AS THOSE FRIES WITH CHEESE AND GRAVY!!! LOL!! THANK YOU.
GREETINGS FROM SAN DIEGO🌴
Tres Bien. Great video, great train, your English is getting better. More handsome than ever!
Welcome to Canada! Enjoyed your trip report!
What a flashback 😳
I was on that train when I was 12 years old. This is definitely on my to do list after watching this show.
Merci.
Fantastic trip video. I've done that trip by car. Now I'm dying to take The Ocean. Been a subscriber for awhile, but now joined Patreon. Keep the great content coming!
Excellente vidéo et très bon résumé. Hâte d'en faire l'expérience dans quelques semaines. Bravo!
Hate to have to tell you, but here in Canada we call our "states" Provinces. So you're going from the Province of Quebec, to the Province of New Brunswick. And as a Canadian, I'm very proud of our customer service. We are very friendly to what we call our guests. We hosted the planes that were forced to land due to 9/11 and accomodated them to try to get them home to The United States.
I can't believe you weren't expecting great scenery. It's one of the few great things that Canada has. It's amazing in New Brunswick. With those old F40s still pulling everything around, I'm not surprised one broke down and caused your delay. Those cars looked AWESOME though and the only nitpick I could find was the shower pressure. LOVED the dining car!!! Thanks for the review!
I know you commented this a while ago, but I just want to point out that he said the delay was caused by a CN train. That would have been a freight consist and likely not an F40 locomotive.
YEEEEESSSS I’ve been waiting for a via rail trip report 👍👍👍
Just watched your The Ocean video. Really enjoyed it 👍. Next you will have to do The Canadian and the Rocky Mountaineer like my wife and I did a few years ago. They are awesome journeys. Thanks for sharing
Excellent video. Loved the views. Would like to take this trip. Thanks for sharing with us. Be safe. God bless.
Great video...thanks for your reviews...watched this cold morning in Texas!
Love Canada! I was hoping to ride the Ocean when my son lived in New Brunswick, but never did. Looking forward to taking it all the way to Halifax.
Bonsoir, bonjour, Allons!
I, too, have looked forwards to this trip.
Wonderful! Yet another bucket list trip!❤️
It is so good to see you in the video ... I have been to the Eastern provinces in Canada and found them to be much like New England in the US
I will need to go to NB this coming spring. Thanks to your video I might take this train as it looks very nice
back in 2002, took amtrak across the country, and via on the canadian back, the food was far better and better presented on the canadian. what you had looks delicious.
Of all the videos, worldwide abt train travel; this is the best made compartment of all!
Have to try this. Looks fabulous. Thank you.
Fantastic video. You make me want to visit Canada by train!
Glad you enjoyed your trip on the Snail, oops, I mean Ocean. I haven't taken it in 30 years, but I can hear the trains go by on still nights since I live a few km from the CN line.
Excellent! Very enjoyable. Thank youy.
Gorgeous morning sunrise! Absolutely beautiful colors.👍
Fantastic! VIA uses the "Budd" equipment on this route often in winter. Have rode the "Renaissance" cars often between Montreal and Quebec as well as on the Toronto to Niagara Falls before they cut those trains They were often full. Most people enter Gare Centrale from the Metro or underground. A stay at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel is amazing since the big reno. VIA has just released the first step in the procurement for new transcontinental trains. Thanks for sharing! If you ever come back to Canada to do the RDCs out of Sudbury let me know as we own a wilderness lodge near the ending the line and would be glad to put you up overnight Cheers.
That was really a nice ride! God I wish we had this in America… everything in this video was A+ for comfort.
I was in the same carriage going the other way the week before. A wonderful experience. Via Rail’s service is superb.
Hope you enjoyed the trip, I have been on it so many times, glad to see you in my home country
Fantastic video! I took the Ocean westbound from Halifax to Montreal in October 2015, and it was the best train trip I've taken to date. The Park Car was there, a beautiful classic dome car with a vintage interior, and I spent much of the evening stargazing. Later on there were even some snow flurries in the Matapédia Valley area, just lovely! I hope you get a chance to check one out in the future.
Bonjour Benjamin - j'espère que tu vas bien.
Thanks for a great video - I wanted to do the Ocean, but did the Canadian between Vancouver and Edmonton instead, in one of Budd roomettes. I found the Budds comfortable but creaky - no problem with ear-plugs, though. No shower in the room, but there was a toilet. Separate shower at the end of the coach with reasonable water pressure. Great food, as you've experienced. We arrived several hours late, thanks to late running freight trains. Fantastic experience, though, through the Rocky Mountains.
Strange to see the much bigger Budds on the end of the old Nightstar coaches!
Look forward to your next trip! 🙂
It's nice to see your face and hear your voice! You're a good looking guy!
I also didn't know you weren't English, you speak and type it so well!
The Budd chateau sleeper you saw is a 4/6/4 configuration, with four roomettes (VIA calls them "cabins for one"), six bedrooms, and four sections. Those are couches during the day, and sleeping compartments at night, with just a heavy curtain separating them from the hallway. The roomettes are slightly different from those I've been on when taking "The Canadian". Yours had a fold down sink, and the ones I was on had a permanent sink, with the bed that folds down from the wall having a narrower foot to fit around the sink. The bed covers the toilet when down. Those cars also have a large shower room/changing area near the sections. VIA has refurbished the interiors a few times over the years and those cars are in nice shape. Hopefully you get the chance to take the Canadian and experience them, as well as the Park Car and the lounge car/dome that's on that train.
VIA's staff is excellent, and the food in the diner always wonderful. My two Canadian trips were very memorable in no small part due to the food. Pre-COVID, the Canadian also had on board entertainment, a musician of some sort who played for a few hours each day in the domes and Park Cars. I suspect that program has not been continued during COVID times.
There aren't enough videos about overnight Via service (meaning any), thank you for making this! Always wanted to try it
YES TRUMP E BIDEN E GOP E 0% DE TUDO E VIGARISTAS . E ESTEONATARIO . #
I'm obsessed with your videos. I can't wait to take this train.
Thanks for the great trip report. At the end of this month a friend and I are traveling across Canada from Toronto to Vancouver. I'm as excited as a kid in a candy shop!! 14 days. The last trip on my list of places to see. We're what we call members of the "SKI Club" otherwise known as spending kids inheritance!!
I remember taking Canadian Pacific Rail (CP Rail) from Vancouver to Montreal when I was 7 in 1969, one of the last years for CP Rail before it and CN Rail passenger service was nationalized into Via Rail. We were in a cabin similar to yours before moving to one of those roomettes. I seem to remember the endless prairies more than anything else and the Jasper, Alberta stop for some reason. The viewing car was awesome.
That takes me back! I took CP from Montreal to Vancouver in maybe 1969, not long after we arrived in Canada. What a way to see the country and to grasp its size. As you say, the longest part of the trip was the Prairies and we were crushed to discover that the train went through the Rockies at night! But we had breakfast while travelling down the Fraser River valley which is one of my favourite train experiences ever, second only to Switzerland.
So Via is a nationalised rail service? And stupidly, UK sold off its railways decades ago 😡
Late: Brings back fond memories of the CN Ocean and Scotian which I rode in the 1970's. What a change! Thanks! The sleeper for the staff original from the 1954 Canadian,
Man, you’ve had so much luck with the weather on your northern trips. The two in Alaska plus this one were picture-perfect. Awesome trip and video.
Side note: the Comfort coaches are so odd-looking. It looks foreign compared to anything North American or European. But the uniqueness of it is what makes it cool.