The ''Saint-Laurent'' () was a daily

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...

service operated by

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

along the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

from

Mont-Joli Mont-Joli () is a city in the La Mitis Regional County Municipality within the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec, Canada. It is the county seat. The city is located east of Rimouski near the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. History In ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and later

Quebec City Quebec City 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 Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

. The train was first established in 1979 to supplement the ''

Ocean The ocean is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of Earth. The ocean is conventionally divided into large bodies of water, which are also referred to as ''oceans'' (the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Indian, Southern Ocean ...

'' in eastern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

following the cancellation of the '' Scotian''. Service lasted until 1990, with a hiatus from 1983 to 1985.

History

The

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

historically operated two daily passenger trains between Montreal and Halifax via Mont-Joli, Campbellton, and

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

: the ''Ocean'' and the ''Scotian''. On October 28, 1979, Via Rail discontinued the ''Scotian'' in favor of extending the ''

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

'', a former

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

train, from Saint John to Halifax. To ensure twice-daily train service remained between Mont-Joli and Montreal, the ''Saint-Laurent'' was added with train numbers 18 and 19. Similarly in New Brunswick, an unnamed

Campbellton–Moncton train The Campbellton–Moncton train was a daily Canadian passenger train service operated by Via Rail between Campbellton and Moncton, New Brunswick. Intermediate stops were in Charlo, Jacquet River, Petit-Rocher, Bathurst, Newcastle, and Nouvelle ...

was added. From May 1983 to June 1985 the ''Saint-Laurent'' was replaced with an extension of the '' Chaleur''. Before and after this time, the ''Chaleur'' and the ''Ocean'' ran together as one train from Montreal that

divided Division is one of the four basic operations of arithmetic. The other operations are addition, subtraction, and multiplication. What is being divided is called the ''dividend'', which is divided by the ''divisor'', and the result is called the ...

Matapédia station Matapédia may refer to: Places in Quebec, Canada *Matapédia, Quebec, a municipality *La Matapédia Regional County Municipality La Matapédia () is a regional county municipality (RCM) in eastern Quebec, Canada at the base of the Gaspé penins ...

. On June 1, 1985, the ''Saint-Laurent'' returned with a southern terminus in

(briefly in Sainte-Foy), coinciding with the reopening of the

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 former location of the Palace of the Intendant of New France. It is served by Via Rail, Canada's national pas ...

as the endpoint of the

Quebec City–Windsor Corridor The Quebec City–Windsor Corridor () is the most densely populated and heavily industrialized region of Canada. As its name suggests, the -long region extends from Quebec City in the northeast to Windsor, Ontario in the southwest. With more tha ...

. Timed transfers connected ''Saint-Laurent'' passengers with Corridor trains serving Montreal and points south. This version of the ''Saint-Laurent'' carried train numbers 631 and 632. Service was discontinued on January 15, 1990, during a round of severe cuts to the Via Rail network overseen by

Benoît Bouchard Benoît Bouchard (; born April 16, 1940) is a Canadian public official and former politician. Biography After a career as a professor and teacher, Bouchard was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as the Progressive Conservative Member o ...

due to the 1989 budget.

References

{{VIA Rail Named passenger trains of Canada Railway services discontinued in 1990 Former Via Rail routes Passenger rail transport in Quebec