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Is anyone familiar with how VIA's 'Ocean' does with it's timekeeping?
I'm looking at possibilities for an April trip and am contemplating a same day connection from the 'Ocean' to Amtrak's 'Adirondack' in Montreal.
The layover would be a mere 95 minutes and this is something I would never consider from one Amtrak train to another......but in the four rides I have taken on VIA I've never been on a late train.
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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I arrived on The Ocean in Montreal this past Thursday and the train was 15 minutes early. On the other hand when I was in Montreal last Monday, #15 was over two hours late. It's always a chance if you will make your connection, past performance is no guarantee that your train will arrive or depart on time.
Posts: 524 | From: Toronto Ont. Canada | Registered: Mar 2001
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When we took the Adirondack south this summer, people from the Ocean were sitting near us and had made the connection. However, if you miss it, staying in Montreal one night is no hardship, if only you have the time!
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by sojourner: When we took the Adirondack south this summer, people from the Ocean were sitting near us and had made the connection. However, if you miss it, staying in Montreal one night is no hardship, if only you have the time!
Very true Sojourner. If I pursue the Ocean to Adirondack connection I think staying a night in Montreal would be the prudent option......or perhaps continuing on down to Toronto on a later VIA train.
And then there's the new issue of Trains magazine which came today with the big article on the La Posada Hotel (former Harvey House) trackside in Winslow, AZ. That might be an option for a mid-winter escape.
So many trains and so little time I'm afraid!
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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I have made about four one-way trips per year on the Ocean for the last several years and found the time-keeping to be excellent. Most arrivals in Montreal have been 10 to 20 minutes early. Most Halifax arrivals have been on time or no more than 10 minutes late.
The rare serious delay is due to exceptionally bad weather or a CN derailment. One day last week the eastbound Ocean, due in Halifax at 4:20 p.m., arrived the following morning at about 7:00 a.m. due to a CN derailment near Charny and an ice storm further east. But the odds are good that you will arrive on itme. Just have a back-up plan, but of course one needs that with all forms of transportation.
Posts: 216 | From: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | Registered: Jul 2000
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David (Not Elvis) I would definitely advise the Adirondack over the Maple Leaf, if that is a choice you have. True, Toronto is a nice city too, and I have never been on the Maple Leaf, but I've made the trip as far west as Buffalo several times (on the Lakeshore Ltd) and, west of Albany (the part that is different from the Adirondack) is nowhere near as nice as what you see on the Adirondack north of Albany. Plus, a few friends who have taken the Maple Leaf in the past few years have complained about the delays at the border (although that may be a little better now; and of course the Adirondack can have them too). Plus, it's really interesting and fun coming into or going out of Quebec from NYS, with the seriously ugly godforsaken town of Rouse's Point, and then the rather lush farmland NORTH of it; I cannot imagine (having made the drive from Toronto to Niagara Falls) that it is as much fun and interest on the Maple Leaf (but I could be wrong--maybe you see Niagara Falls from the train???) The Maple Leaf between NYC and Toronto is also a lot more expensive than the Adirondack between NYC and Montreal.
Of course, you can take the Adirondack to Montreal, overnight there, catch the Ocean round trip, return to Montreal and continue on to Toronto, and then come down from there as you will! (Too bad you only have 4 days.)
Let me know if you want any hotel or restaurant tips on Montreal; I have a few someplace.
Posts: 2642 | From: upstate New York | Registered: Mar 2004
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