Montreal - Quebec City questions

What type of equipment does VIA use on the Montreal - Quebec runs? Is it the same LRC equipment used on the Montreal - Toronto corridor? Also, do the trains get up to 100 mph between Montreal and Quebec?

LRC equipment used to be the norm but VIA now exclusively uses the new Renaissance cars on all its Montreal - Quebec City corridor trains. I don't know what the top speed for passenger trains on the line is, but I would guess it's 85 or 90 mph.

Ken V wrote:LRC equipment used to be the norm but VIA now exclusively uses the new Renaissance cars on all its Montreal - Quebec City corridor trains. I don't know what the top speed for passenger trains on the line is, but I would guess it's 85 or 90 mph.

Didn't VIA get an exemption to run the new cars at LRC speeds? The schedule did not significantly change when they were brought in so one would think so.

oleanfuzz wrote:Didn't VIA get an exemption to run the new cars at LRC speeds? The schedule did not significantly change when they were brought in so one would think so.

I don't know for sure but I would think the Ren equipment could operate at 100 mph+ speeds since they were designed for it. The question is what the top speed is on the Montreal-Quebec City route. As far as I know, 100 mph running is only permitted between Toronto and Montreal.

Hmm, I might have to take a trip from Montreal to Toronto, then! I'd like to experience the LRC equipment at 100 mph! Do the LRC coaches still use their tilt mechanisms?

hsr_fan wrote:Do the LRC coaches still use their tilt mechanisms?

Yes the LRC tilt is still being used. VIA specifically ordered their P42 locomotives to include tilt activation controls. Without it the trains would have to slow down even more through curves but, either way, they can still go full speed on straight track.

I have travelled to Montreal on the 5:00 p.m. express and thence on to Quebec City (the next day obviously) a few times and will be doing so again next week. Trains #66 & 67 are indeed fast by Canadian standards. I have actually been on time twice on this run, although it seems recently that they are always at least 15 minutes late. I haven't seen anything less on the arrivals screen whilst passing through Union Station. There are a number of stretches where 100 mph is attained. I don't believe there is any 100 mph running on the Montreal-Quebec route, but there are some high-speed stretches of 90 and perhaps 95 mph.

Guys,

I just found this forum and I'm browsing through the archives.

I can confirm that there is a 100 mph stretch on the Montreal - Quebec City line, and that Renaissance equipment is running at that speed with P42DC locomotives.

The stretch is about 15 miles long, between Laurier Station and St-Nicolas, just west of Charny. There, the railroad parallels highway 20 and there are no crossings.

See the picture I took below, using my PocketPC with a Bluetooth GPS inside a Renaissance car. We were traveling westbound on train 25, on february 27th 2005. The speed was 162 km/h as can be seen on top of the Pocket PC's screen. Of course the pointer is shown on Highway 20, not on the railroad, because the software is designed to be used by cars, not trains! However, the railroad is visible on the map: it's the little black line just below the thick red one.

<img src="http://www3.sympatico.ca/mrobicha/images/Share/050227_133126_043.JPG" border="0" width="512"> click to see larger image

Regards,

Michel.