The Train de Charlevoix is a tourist rail service between Beauport ( Chutes Montmorency) and

La Malbaie La Malbaie is a municipality in the Charlevoix-Est Regional County Municipality in the Province of Quebec, Canada, situated on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River at the mouth of the Malbaie River. It was formerly known as Murray Bay. La Ma ...

, Quebec, with an additional stop in

Baie-Saint-Paul Baie-Saint-Paul ( 2011 Population 7,332; UA population 4,535) is a city in the Province of Quebec, Canada, on the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River. Baie-Saint-Paul is the seat of Charlevoix Regional County Municipality. The city is ...

and in the winter at the

Le Massif (, ), known as just Le Massif, is a ski area in Quebec, Canada, northeast of Quebec City and directly overlooking the St. Lawrence River. Description ski area is located in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, Charlevoix, Quebec, a 50-minute dr ...

ski area, a distance of about . It is owned and operated by Le Massif de Charlevoix, which also owns the Le Massif ski area. The train no longer runs in the winter, so there is no service to the ski area. Service is offered from June to October. However, as of 2019 the train will run in winter.

History

Grand Trunk & Canadian National Railways

As early as 1928, regular year-round passenger service operated once a day as far as La Malbaie (then referred to as Murray Bay). A seasonal second train per day service operated from June to September from

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

. By 1931, the service was extended to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. At this time, only freight would continue to Clermont. By 1944, the extra train operated during summer months was dropped from the schedule, resulting in a once-daily schedule year round. In February 1971,

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

extended service to Clermont.

Via Rail

In 1977,

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

took over operation of most Canadian National and

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

passenger services. By this time,

Gare du Palais Gare du Palais ("Palace Station") is a train and bus station in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Its name comes from its proximity to the Palace of the Intendant of New France. It is served by Via Rail, Canada's national passenger railway, and by t ...

was closed for renovations, and Ste-Foy became the origin of all trains on the route, with a stop at Limoilou near the core of

. VIA Rail began operating the service daily with

Budd Rail Diesel Car The Budd Rail Diesel Car, RDC, Budd car or Buddliner is a self-propelled diesel multiple unit (DMU) railcar. Between 1949 and 1962, 398 RDCs were built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The cars were primarily adop ...

s. VIA Rail cancelled the train by the end of 1977.

Current tourist railway

Work on starting the train began in September 2008, when renovation of Charlevoix Railway trackage began, partially funded by grants from the national and provincial governments, and with a total cost of C$18.4 million. In April 2010, work began on rebuilding eight

railcars A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a drive ...

at a cost of close to $5 million; the cars were originally built in 1955 and 1956 by the

St Louis Car Company The St. Louis Car Company was a major United States manufacturer of railroad passenger cars, streetcars, interurbans, trolleybuses and locomotives that existed from 1887 to 1974, based in St. Louis, Missouri. History The St. Louis Car Company ...

and were previously used in commuter rail service in Chicago. Once refitted, the eight cars had a total capacity of 550 people, and along with two

MLW RS-18 The MLW RS-18 was an diesel-electric locomotive built by Montreal Locomotive Works between December 1956 and August 1968. It replaced the RS-10 in MLW's catalogue, and production totalled 351 locomotives, to eight customers. It was the Canadia ...

locomotives comprise the rolling stock used for the train. The refurbished rolling stock is now in storage, with the current rolling stock being two married pairs of DB Class 628.1, with a third added in 2018 for increased service. In early 2019, it was announced that the train would begin operating during the winter months in partnership with a new

Club Med Club Med SAS, commonly known as Club Med and previously known as Club Méditerranée SA, is a French travel and tourism operator headquartered in Paris, specializing in all-inclusive holidays. Founded in 1950, the company has been primarily o ...

location opening at the ski hill.

List of stations

* Chutes Montmorency *

Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré is a town in La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada, along the Saint Lawrence River, north-east of Quebec City. The population was 2,803 according to the Canada 2006 Census. Major religious l ...

Petite-Rivière-Saint-François Petite-Rivière-Saint-François is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, along the Saint Lawrence River. It is considered the gateway to the Charlevoix region. It is named after the Petite rivière Saint-François, and home to Le Massif ski resort. ...

* Baie-St-Paul *

Les Éboulements Les Éboulements is a municipality in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. Its population centres include Les Éboulements (located along Route 362 on the plateau overlooking the Saint Lawrence River), Éboulements-Est (at the feet ...

* Saint-Irénée *

References

External links

Official website
{{Canadian passenger rail systems Passenger rail transport in Quebec