VIA Rail marks the 120th anniversary of its Ocean train  – but what’s left to celebrate?

A rail aficionado’s reflections on what we once had – but have lost

-by Ted Bartlett

A VIA Rail train crosses over a roadway as it passes through Moncton NB on a sunny day.
Running typically late, VIA train 14, the eastbound Ocean, rolls through Moncton on June 16, 2025. Even with scheduled running times between Halifax and Montreal up to four hours longer than they were 30 years ago, the train rarely operates on time because of freight interference and dilapidated track conditions in northern New Brunswick. PHOTO – Ted Bartlett

It’s perhaps no coincidence that VIA Rail Canada is a year late in observing the 120th anniversary of North America’s longest running named train. Its on-time performance hasn’t exactly been something the Crown corporation can point to with pride, and the tri-weekly Halifax-Montreal Ocean has been one of its worst performing trains in recent years. It’s not unusual for it to arrive at destination four hours or more behind schedule.

While we don’t wish to rain too heavily on VIA’s parade, it seems timely to inject a little reality into the events being held in Halifax to mark the occasion. Perhaps it’s simply an effort to remind the public that some semblance of passenger rail still exists in the Maritimes, because, apart from some online promotion, VIA hasn’t spent a cent to advertise the service in years.

The Ocean Limited, as it was originally known, made its inaugural run in July of 1904, and was from day one the pride of the Intercolonial Railway. After the Intercolonial was absorbed by the new Crown corporation Canadian National Railways in 1919, this train continued its position of preeminence, and was equipped with the newest and finest locomotives and rolling stock. Today, sadly, it’s but a shadow of its former self, and the abysmal on-time performance is just one of its many shortcomings.

A historic postcard image of the Ocean Limited, running with a steam locomotive under Canadian Government Railways.
A publicity poster from 1915 shows an early iteration of a steam-hauled Ocean Limited – the pride of the Intercolonial/Canadian Government Railways. -Image from Wikipedia

Arguably, the finest hour for the Ocean came in the mid-1990s – the devastating cuts VIA had endured in 1990 at the hands of the Mulroney Government notwithstanding. The train only ran six days a week instead of seven – still double the frequency offered today – but the onboard amenities were outstanding and time keeping and bus connections to points not served by rail remained quite acceptable.

The company was completing a comprehensive refurbishment of the classic stainless steel cars it had inherited from Canadian Pacific, and sufficient rolling stock was devoted to the Maritime service for three train sets. This equipment had been manufactured in 1954 by the now-defunct Budd Company of Philadelphia – and had been built to last. It included coaches, Pullman-style sleeping cars, diners, and two versions of the iconic scenic dome observation cars.  It was rebuilt literally from the wheels up, which included running gear; new electric heating and air conditioning systems powered by the locomotives, known as head-end power (HEP); windows, upholstery, and interior décor upgrades. The updated motive power was F40PH units, built in the 1980s by General Motors Diesel in London, Ontario.

The cover of a VIA 1995 timetable displaying a VIA train passing in front of a row of houses along the Chaleur Bay in New Brunswick.
The re-equipped Ocean with its thoroughly refurbished vintage stainless steel cars and nearly-new F40PH locomotives graced the cover of VIA Rail’s system timetable in the summer of 1995. The Crown corporation no longer publishes printed schedules.

Viewed from trackside, the re-equipped Ocean was an object of beauty, resplendent in its new silver-and-blue livery. Onboard, the painstakingly restored dining cars offered appetizing meals freshly prepared by a VIA chef. Passengers could enjoy the view from not just one, but two scenic dome observation cars – one exclusively for sleeper-class passengers and the other shared with economy class.

A VIA brochure excerpt advertising "A fresh look on Eastern trains".
This advertisement from a mid-1990s VIA timetable promoted the upgraded amenities of the re-equipped Ocean with its extensively refurbished rolling stock. -Author’s collection

The timetable in effect for the summer of 1995 showed what is believed to be the fastest westbound scheduled running time ever, at 19 hours and 15 minutes, with a 2:00 pm departure from Halifax and 8:15 am arrival in Montreal.  There were convenient rail connections for onward-bound passengers to destinations such as Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston, London and Windsor, and reliable bus connections were offered between the Ocean and major Maritime centres like Sydney, Saint John, Fredericton and Charlottetown, as well as to the Newfoundland ferry. And in those far-off days, on-time performance was still pretty acceptable.

At first the decline from this proud pinnacle was barely perceptible. In the fall of 1995 the connecting bus between Miramichi and Fredericton disappeared from the timetable. In later years, Economy-class passengers would find that the blankets and pillows advertised when the newly-refurbished equipment was launched were no longer available. Eventually they found themselves no longer welcome in the dining car.

But perhaps the most significant change involved the infrastructure the Ocean used on its route through northern New Brunswick. Slowly but inexorably, the effects of deferred track maintenance by the shortline operator that had acquired that part of the former Intercolonial line from Canadian National became apparent. Schedules were lengthened as maximum allowable running speeds were scaled back. By 2015 almost the entire 66 miles (106 km) between Rogersville and Bathurst was restricted to a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour. Except for yard limits and slow orders on a few bridges, in 1995 passenger trains could safely run between 65 and 75 mph on most of that trackage. By now the Ocean’s total scheduled running time from Halifax to Montreal had been lengthened by more than three hours from what it had been 20 years previously. And it’s only gotten worse since CN reacquired the line a decade after divesting it. Since 2015 an additional 90 minutes has been added to the westbound schedule, and still the train is usually late arriving in Montreal.

Another substantial change for the Ocean involved rolling stock. By 2006 the ”silver and blue” stainless steel equipment had mostly been redeployed elsewhere in VIA’s system. Its replacement on the Maritime train was a collection of British-built cars that had been originally designed for a planned overnight service between the UK and the continent. That project had been abandoned when the arrival of the high-speed daytime Eurostar using the same Channel Tunnel route, coupled with cheap fares on no-frills airlines, put its commercial viability into question. Offered the opportunity to buy the now-unwanted equipment at a fire-sale price, VIA purchased all 139 cars – more than half of them incomplete shells – in 2001. They named the cars “Renaissance”, as a suggestion of progress.

Whether they actually represented a forward step was open to question. They certainly presented technical challenges, as their coupling and braking systems were not compatible with North American standards. However VIA was able to work around those issues for the most part. Being built for service in Britain and France, they were also ill-suited to the rigors of the Canadian winter; frozen plumbing was a frequent occurrence. And because of the restrictive clearances of the Channel Tunnel, they were lower and narrower than North American cars, resulting in a less spacious interior and a general feeling of being cramped.

Renaissance coaches did offer wide comfortable seating and a smoother, quieter ride, but the sleeping car compartments were another story. The service for which the cars were originally intended would have had passengers boarding just before bedtime, with arrival early the next morning. There was little or no consideration given to daytime seating comfort, which was quite important in the Ocean business model.

There were no dining cars in the Renaissance collection, so VIA had three of the sleeper shells converted for that purpose. However, there was no onboard galley, so all meals were prepared by an outside caterer, loaded aboard in airline fashion, and plated and served by train staff. It was certainly a far cry from the freshly prepared entrees that had been a hallmark of the Ocean for generations. VIA did manage to retain the domed observation car at the end of the train by using a so-called “transition car” with a European coupler at one end and a North American one at the other. It was a bit of a lash-up, and looked somewhat incongruous, but it worked.

In retrospect, the Renaissance purchase was no bargain. The cars were not built with longevity in mind, a factor perhaps exacerbated by the Canadian operating environment. In addition to the Ocean, some trainsets ran in corridor service for a number of years, but all these had been retired by mid-2024. A large number of the uncompleted cars were cannibalized for parts to keep others running; many were scrapped without ever carrying a passenger.

In 2012 came another setback. A less-than-visionary CEO at VIA decided there was money to be saved by cutting the Ocean back to three times a week. Efforts to convince him otherwise were futile. The expected savings – as many had predicted – proved to be an illusion, because revenues were considerably reduced while fixed costs remained the same, and the train became a far less useful option to the travelling public.

The COVID-19 pandemic was yet one more blow. In March 2020 VIA abruptly cancelled the Ocean, which did not operate at all for more than a year. When the train returned in August 2021 it ran only once a week in each direction. The full tri-weekly schedule wasn’t restored until June of 2022. But during the service interruption CN and the Port of Halifax decommissioned the reversing loop at the container terminal adjacent to the VIA station, which had allowed the train to be turned for the westbound journey. There was then no alternative but to run the locomotives around the train and have the cars go backwards all the way to Montreal. That was the end of the observation dome, leaving only a Renaissance service car with about a dozen rather crowded and somewhat uncomfortable seats for the use of sleeper class passengers.

A VIA Rail train with stainless steel passenger cars followed by smaller green and yellow passenger cars cross a roadway on a sunny summer day.
A mix of classic stainless steel (foreground) and British-built renaissance cars (background), today’s Ocean is an awkward combination of equipment with minimum amenities, running on a slower and unreliable schedule – a far cry from the high-class train that served the Maritimes three decades ago. PHOTO – Ted Bartlett

The Ocean as it exists today is not really a pretty sight. So is it worth celebrating? Yes, indeed! If nothing else, marking this anniversary – albeit a little late – is an opportunity to build awareness of an outstanding service we once had, and the potential to bring it back to some semblance of its former glory, if only the political will were there to do it.

Transport Action Atlantic, an all-volunteer organization, has been the leading voice for public transportation advocacy in our region for half a century. We have a three-stage vision that could realistically and affordably significantly improve VIA service in a short-term – without waiting 10 years or more for the new long-haul passenger equipment that the Trudeau Government promised in 2024. (Bear in mind that this stuff hasn’t even been designed yet – let alone ordered. It exists only in conceptual form.)

  • The first priority is to repair and maintain the former Intercolonial line through northern New Brunswick to the passenger operational standards that existed three decades ago, allowing a return to the faster track speeds and shorter journey times of the Ocean’s heyday as recently as the 1990s. It’s quite clear that the investor-owned CN sees no shareholder value in doing this, so the obvious answer is for the Government of Canada to take the initiative. It would be a nation-rebuilding undertaking – not quite a megaproject with a billion-dollar price tag, but an affordable and achievable investment that could be completed with minimum delay and positive measurable outcomes. To put it in perspective, it has been estimated the total cost would be less than that of twinning 10 kilometres of existing highway.
  • To improve the value proposition of the train, convenient and reliable motorcoach connections must be restored to and from destinations not directly served by rail, including Saint John, Fredericton, Charlottetown, Sydney and the Newfoundland ferry.  TAA recommends that these be run by private operators, but with a guarantee that they would not lose money on the service.
  • TAA has long maintained that a through daily train between Halifax and Montreal is the minimum acceptable level of service. The delivery of new Venture trains for VIA’s corridor routes, expected to be completed later this year, will release a group of still-serviceable stainless steel cars for use elsewhere in the country. There are also a number of sleeping, dining and skyline dome cars currently awaiting refurbishment. It should not be an insurmountable obstacle to assemble sufficient equipment for the third train set needed to restore daily service. It should not be necessary for the Ocean to wait long years for new cars to be designed and built to regain some of its former glory.

The key phrase is political will. Transport Action Atlantic believes all three goals can be achieved in the near future if Canada’s new government wishes to do it. The 120th (121st?) anniversary of the Ocean seems like a good time to start the wheels turning!

A photograph of Ted Bartlett, past president of Transport Action Atlantic, sitting in the berth of a 1950's built VIA Rail passenger car.
Ted Bartlett is past president of Transport Action Atlantic, and remains a strong advocate for public transportation in all its forms.

Transport Action Atlantic sets agenda for 2025-26

– Media Release – June 2, 2025 –

Removing the HST from intercity bus and rail fares would be a climate-friendly, simple and practical way to benefit lower and middle income Canadians, says Transport Action Atlantic. The advocacy group held its 2025 annual general meeting virtually on May 31.

Eliminating the tax on public transportation tickets would mean an immediate fare reduction for most train and motor coach users, says TAA president Tim Hayman. The benefit would go directly to the passenger – not the carrier. It would surely be welcome news for people who don’t own cars or choose not to fly, he noted, adding it would also serve as an incentive for those who drive to leave their cars at home.

The discussion at the AGM ranged over a variety of public transportation issues, aimed at resetting the group’s agenda for the coming year.

Another key TAA priority is encouraging action by the Government of Canada to fix the badly deteriorated VIA Rail passenger service in the region. Over the past two decades train frequencies have been reduced, schedules have slowed substantially due to poorly maintained track and freight train interference, bus connections to offline communities have been severed, and passenger amenities have been downgraded. One example of the effects of track conditions is the reality that it now takes longer for VIA’s Ocean to travel from Moncton to Campbellton than in the era of steam locomotives.

“We will continue to advocate for reasonable and affordable improvements that would restore passenger rail in the Maritimes to at least the minimal standard that existed at the turn of the millennium,” Tim Hayman said. “The number one priority is to get the track on CN’s Newcastle Subdivision rehabilitated to the standards maintained in the 20th Century, because without that badly-needed investment passenger rail in this region will never improve.”

As next steps, TAA is calling for restoration of reliable bus connections to destinations not currently served by passenger rail, such as Saint John, Fredericton, Prince Edward Island, Cape Breton, and the Newfoundland ferry. The third goal is the return to daily VIA service between Halifax and Montreal – an objective that the organization believes is achievable in the near term if the political will is there to do it.

“We believe Atlantic Canadians should not have to wait – probably ten years or more – for delivery of the new long-haul passenger equipment promised last year by the federal government before they see any substantive improvement in passenger rail,” the TAA president commented.

Discussion at the meeting also included ferry services, and lack thereof. It was noted that Canada’s new government had included in its election platform a promise of major fare reductions in the constitutional Marine Atlantic service to Newfoundland, as well as to tolls on the Confederation Bridge and its alternative service provided by Northumberland Ferries; however, no timeline has been given, and concern was expressed that it could be a repeat of a 2015 promise by the Trudeau Liberals to withdraw the 65% cost recovery requirement imposed on Marine Atlantic by the Harper Conservatives. That campaign pledge took nearly nine years to come to fruition.

Another ferry issue is the need for a reliable year-round service to connect Campobello Island with the Canadian mainland. The only permanent access the 800 residents have to the rest of New Brunswick is by using an international bridge to the United States – a routing that has become increasingly problematic over the years, and especially in recent months. TAA has endorsed the position expressed by a leading Campobello ferry advocate, who maintains the absence of a year-round link to the rest of Canada is a Charter Rights issue.

Transport Action will also continue to support and advocate for better urban and rural transit in Atlantic Canada. It was noted that Canada’s smallest province – Prince Edward Island – has shown itself to be a leader in this field by funding rural transit throughout the island, and making public transportation services affordable for everyone.


TAA past-president Ted Bartlett appeared on CBC’s Information Morning Moncton on June 4 to discuss these priorities. You can listen to that interview here.

Ted was also on Information Morning Fredericton, which you can listen to here.

Hear Ted on the Todd Veinotte show, beginning at approximately 19:30 into the June 5 show.

We have several more media appearances scheduled, and will continue to update this post with those appearances as they are published.

Election 2025 – A convenient, affordable, and sustainable transportation agenda

As polling day for the 2025 federal election draws ever closer, Transport Action Atlantic would like to draw attention to a pair of key issues that we’re highlighting for candidates in this election. This election comes during a time of of growing global insecurity, an increasingly fractured and uncertain relationship with our neighbours to the south, and an ever greater focus on Canadian sovereignty and resilience. We believe that a robust domestic transportation system, with options that provide convenient, affordable and sustainable connections between Canadian cities, towns, and provinces, can play a major role in connecting our nation during these tumultuous times.

TAA is an all-volunteer, non-partisan advocacy organization. Our goal is to promote convenient, affordable and sustainable public transportation for all Atlantic Canadians. During the current federal campaign we believe it is important – and reasonable – to ask candidates of all political persuasion where they stand on these issues.

There are many intercity transportation issues that we support and continue to advocate for, but in this campaign we have decided to focus on two key Atlantic Canadian issues where we feel we have a strong voice. These are 1) the critical need for investment to restore and bolster passenger rail in Atlantic Canada, and 2) the need to provide affordable ferry travel between Newfoundland and mainland Canada.

We are pleased to present these two policy briefings, continuing our regional and national theme of Ideas in Motion. We encourage you to read and discuss them. If you agree with us that they deserve priority attention among campaign issues critical to Atlantic Canada and its future, please share them and encourage others to join the cause as well. Don’t miss this opportunity!

These two policy briefings focused on Atlantic Canada are published in their entirety below, and you can open or download either of these briefings as a PDF using the links below, so you can save, print and share them as you wish!

Atlantic Canada Passenger Rail Policy Brief – 2025

Newfoundland Ferry Rates Policy Brief – 2025


A vision for renewed VIA Rail service in the Maritimes

Passenger rail in Atlantic Canada today is a sorry remnant of what it used to be. For the past three decades it has been declining at a more precipitous rate than elsewhere in the VIA Rail system. In fact, portions of the Quebec City-Windsor corridor have, in recent years, seen improvement in frequency and capacity, and investment in new trains.

A major setback for VIA’s Maritime service came in October 2012, when the frequency of the region’s sole remaining train was cut to just three times weekly, under the guise of being an “improvement” to better meet the public demand. VIA’s then-CEO was insistent that the Ocean was primarily a tourism product – completely ignoring the realities of local needs and travel patterns. The train has suffered significant ridership losses and increasing operating costs since the cutback. VIA is now paying more to operate fewer trains, and VIA’s own corporate plans acknowledge that passengers in the Maritimes are being poorly served by the current schedule.

The tri-weekly operation eliminated the possibility of same-day returns to the Maritimes from Montreal, and one-day round trips to Moncton for residents of New Brunswick’s North Shore – an important consideration for people who have few other public transportation options. The lack of frequency also rules out rail as a choice for weekend travel, and it limits its usefulness when severe winter conditions make other forms of transportation unreliable or impossible. In the years since, the train’s schedule has been extended due to slow track conditions, train capacity has been constrained by the dwindling availability of serviceable equipment, and key on-board amenities have been lost due to the removal of infrastructure in Halifax that allowed VIA to turn its trains.

Frequency and reliability are key components to making passenger rail service viable. Transport Action Atlantic believes that a daily Ocean with equipment appropriate to meet market demand at different times of the year would be the most effective way to serve communities all along the route, as well to provide a quality seasonal tourism product. Improved track infrastructure to facilitate better travel times would also help make the service more attractive.

The 2024 federal budget allocated funding for VIA to begin the replacement of its long-distance, regional, and remote train fleet. This is an important step, but it needs to be seen through to completion in a timely fashion to ensure that VIA’s services are not impacted before new equipment can arrive. It is also critical that the new fleet provide a sufficient increase in capacity to allow the trains to meet and grow market demand, and allow for the return of at least daily train service in Atlantic Canada. Further, investments are needed in the short-term to maintain the existing fleet. We continue to believe that frequency increases could be possible with the existing fleet, following refurbishment work.

Extensive market research should guide both the acquisition of new passenger cars and refurbishment of the existing fleet. A variety of accommodation and onboard amenities should be available to accommodate various travel budgets, including budget options for those willing to pay for additional comfort and personal space without luxury pricing. Simply put, the product should meet the needs of the marketplace.

There is also the issue of track infrastructure. The total Montreal-Halifax travel time for the Ocean today is longer than it was in the era of steam locomotives – largely due to the deteriorated condition of CN’s Newcastle Subdivision in northern New Brunswick. Passenger train speed is limited to just 30 miles per hour on a lengthy stretch of track where 70 mph was safely permitted less than 20 years ago. Federal investment a decade ago was meant to improve the track, but the money has been spent and speeds have not been restored. Clearly, more investment is required, but in so doing the infrastructure owner needs to be held to account to ensure the outcome meets the intended objectives.

Canada does not end at Quebec City! Canadians outside of the corridor also deserve investment in modern passenger rail equipment and services. At a time when national unity is of the utmost importance, investing in passenger rail is an ideal pathway to create economic opportunity and better connect Canadians from coast to coast to coast.


Affordable Newfoundland ferry rates – a constitutional commitment

Three quarters of a century has passed since Newfoundland and Labrador became Canada’s tenth province, completing Confederation from sea to sea. Transportation was a key concern for the people who designed the Terms of Union – and cost was an essential factor. Accordingly, Term 32 obligated Canada to provide a federally-supported ferry service between North Sydney and Port aux Basques, and provided protection against the higher cost of living resulting from geography.  Specifically, framed in conformity with the dominant transportation mode of the day, the 100-nautical-mile crossing of the Cabot Strait was to be rated as an all-rail movement. The additional handling and operational costs of the ferry service were to be absorbed by the Government of Canada through Crown-owned Canadian National Railways.

Much has changed in the intervening years. The narrow-gauge Newfoundland rail line was abandoned in 1988; the railway passenger service on the island had been discontinued two decades previously. Traffic on the “constitutional” ferry route is now all highway-based.  But the basic principle of Term 32 remains. While road has replaced rail, the ferry service operated by the federal Crown corporation Marine Atlantic Inc. (MAI) must be viewed in the contemporary sense as an extension of the Trans Canada Highway. If the spirit in which the Terms of Union were drafted is to be respected, vehicles crossing the Cabot Strait should be charged no more than the cost of driving them 180 kilometres by highway. Arguably, there should be no charges for commercial drivers or the occupants of passenger vehicles. It is significant that these additional costs do not apply to users of the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island, which is also a constitutional obligation of the Government of Canada.

Over time, the best intentions of the latter-day Fathers of Confederation have been eroded. In the past two decades Marine Atlantic’s rates have more than doubled – an increase greater than three times the national inflation rate. Security fees and fuel surcharges have also been added. Notably, there are no such additional costs to users of the Confederation Bridge, where tolls are tied to the cost of living index.

Under a previous Conservative government, Transport Canada imposed a cost recovery target of 65% on MAI. Despite a campaign commitment from their leader in 2015 to address this “unreasonable” requirement, it took the subsequent Liberal administration nearly nine years (and three transport ministers) to get round to removing it. Ferry rates actually continued to rise in excess of the inflation rate until 2020.

Transport Action Atlantic believes the spirit of the Terms of Union that made Newfoundland and Labrador a part of Canada should be respected, and that Term 32 must be viewed in a modernized context. The ferry crossing of the Cabot Strait is part of the Trans Canada Highway, and should cost users no more than driving the equivalent distance by road. This is an obligation assumed by the Government of Canada in 1949, and remains as valid today as it did then – notwithstanding the passage of time and changes in transportation technology.

The major parties are currently campaigning on promises to eliminate the tolls on the Confederation Bridge and to re-examine ferry rates on crossings to Prince Edward Island. In the same spirit, residents of Newfoundland and Labrador should be afforded the same consideration in making travel to and from their province more affordable.

Today’s ferry rates are much higher than they should be – and in a time of economic uncertainty and increasing global costs, immediate action is required.