Matapédia railway station

Matapédia
Location 10 rue MacDonell
Matapédia, QC
Canada
Coordinates 47°58′29″N 66°56′22″W / 47.97472°N 66.93944°W / 47.97472; -66.93944Coordinates: 47°58′29″N 66°56′22″W / 47.97472°N 66.93944°W / 47.97472; -66.93944
Platforms 1 side platform
Tracks 2
Construction
Parking Yes
Disabled access Yes
Services
Preceding station   Via Rail   Following station
toward Montreal
Ocean
toward Halifax
Montreal–Gaspé train
toward Gaspé

The Matapédia railway station is located on rue MacDonnell in the village of Matapédia, Quebec, Canada. The station is staffed and wheelchair-accessible, but there is no ticket agent. It is open daily except Tuesdays.

Matapédia is the junction between two rail lines. The east-west former Intercolonial Railway mainline from Halifax to Rivière-du-Loup is joined from the east by a line running along the south coast of the Gaspé Peninsula to the town of Gaspé.

As a result, Matapédia was where two Via Rail routes diverged en route to their eastern termini, whereas they converged when heading westbound. The 6 day/week Halifax-Montreal Ocean and 3 day/week Montreal – Gaspé train operated as one train between Matapédia and Montreal in the winter time when each separate train has fewer cars.

Since the 2004 introduction of Renaissance cars (the former Nightstar trains from the UK) on the Ocean both trains operated separately between Matapédia and Montreal during the summer when each train was longer. Service to Gaspé was interrupted in 2013 and has not resumed[1] however there have been recent attempts to resuscitate it.[2][3]

When operating separately, the Montreal – Gaspé train ran several minutes ahead of the Ocean toward Montreal. When combined, the trains ran together as far as Matapédia before the Ocean continued to Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Montreal – Gaspé train proceeded to Gaspé.

The Canadian National Railway station is a designated Heritage Railway Station,[4] under the Heritage Railway Stations Protection Act.

References

  1. ↑ "VIA Rail ferme plusieurs gares | Gilles Gagné | Transports". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  2. ↑ "La Gaspésie réclame le retour des autocars, un «service essentiel» | Jean-François Bégin | National". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  3. ↑ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Regions -. "Train de passagers en Gaspésie : une priorité pour Rémi Massé | ICI.Radio-Canada.ca". Radio-Canada.ca (in French). Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  4. ↑ Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada: "List of Designated Heritage Railway Stations: Quebec"
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