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 ...

, Quebec, with an additional stop in

Baie-Saint-Paul Baie-Saint-Paul (; 2021 Population 7,371; UA population 4,308) is a city in the Province of Quebec, Canada, on the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River. Baie-Saint-Paul is the seat of Charlevoix Regional County Municipality. The city i ...

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, 90 km northea ...

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 service ceased operations in December 2024. In Summer 2025, Groupe Voyages Québec, will act as the exclusive distributor of all Charlevoix train packages and from June 13 to November 2, the tour operator will offer a departure per day at 8 a.m. from the Parc de la Chute-Montmorency, near Quebec City. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2163694/retour-train-charlevoix-partenariat

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 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 ...

. By 1931, the service was extended to

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 ...

. 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 () 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 an ...

extended service to Clermont.

Via Rail

In 1977,

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 ...

took over operation of most Canadian National and

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 ...

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

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), also known as the 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 ...

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 The Charlevoix Railway () is a short-line railroad, short-line railway that operates in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, Canada. From 1994 to 2009 it was a subsidiary of the Quebec Railway Corporation, a short line operator. Since April 2009 ...

trackage began, partially funded by grants from the federal 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 the generic term railroad car, railroad car or railway car) is a self-propelled Rail transport, railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a trai ...

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

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 ow ...

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 ...

Petite-Rivière-Saint-François Petite-Rivière-Saint-François () is a municipality in Quebec, Canada, along the St. Lawrence River. It is considered the gateway to the Charlevoix region. It is named after the Petite rivière Saint-François (Little Saint-François River), a ...

* Baie-St-Paul *

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

* Saint-Irénée *

References

External links

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