Is there still a market for short overnight sleeper journeys? I don’t think so. VIA tried the Toronto <> Montreal “Enterprise” from 2000 to 2005. It was well promoted but it didn’t work. As a railfan I rode numerous times and enjoyed it but VIA couldn’t get the business traveller into a sleeper by even offering sleeper one-way and VIA-1 the other. The daytime Toronto <> Kingston commuter portion of the run did work and was retained.
Obviously there is a market for sleepers on the Canadian and because of the length of the run, the Churchill train requires one too. The former overnight trains to northern Quebec once had sleepers but when these were converted to daytime runs they were now much more convenient for local passengers, the ridership increased and VIA costs of operating a sleeper were eliminated. Same goes for the Skeena which even got a daytime touring class.
The Chaleur is an obvious choice for conversion to a daytime service......leave the dome on and offer a touring class similar to the Skeena. The local stops along the St. Lawrence (Riviere-du-Loup, Rimouski, Mont Joli etc) and into the Gaspe have always been good traffic generators for VIA and would probably increase with a daytime service.
I even wonder about the Ocean. Except during the summer (& holidays) and when the Touring Class (former Easterly Class) is operated, the sleepers pretty well empty out at Moncton. Even the coach traffic is heavier west of Moncton. If VIA cut the Ocean back to a Moncton <> Montreal service, only two sets of equipment would be needed. That’s just what the Ocean was in the 1980s......you were required to change trains in Moncton to continue to Halifax. A fast daytime service could be offered connecting Halifax, Moncton and possibly Saint John, the Maritimes’ largest cities.
Obviously there is a market for sleepers on the Canadian and because of the length of the run, the Churchill train requires one too. The former overnight trains to northern Quebec once had sleepers but when these were converted to daytime runs they were now much more convenient for local passengers, the ridership increased and VIA costs of operating a sleeper were eliminated. Same goes for the Skeena which even got a daytime touring class.
The Chaleur is an obvious choice for conversion to a daytime service......leave the dome on and offer a touring class similar to the Skeena. The local stops along the St. Lawrence (Riviere-du-Loup, Rimouski, Mont Joli etc) and into the Gaspe have always been good traffic generators for VIA and would probably increase with a daytime service.
I even wonder about the Ocean. Except during the summer (& holidays) and when the Touring Class (former Easterly Class) is operated, the sleepers pretty well empty out at Moncton. Even the coach traffic is heavier west of Moncton. If VIA cut the Ocean back to a Moncton <> Montreal service, only two sets of equipment would be needed. That’s just what the Ocean was in the 1980s......you were required to change trains in Moncton to continue to Halifax. A fast daytime service could be offered connecting Halifax, Moncton and possibly Saint John, the Maritimes’ largest cities.