Quote:
Originally Posted by J81
If you put the Ocean on the NTR and bypass all of the communities you just mentioned it will kill that train. People on this forum don’t understand how much of the Oceans business comes from those communities. It would be great if we had daily service with route alternating from the NTR to the ICR but thats a pipe dream. The problem with the NTR is there is literally nothing but woods for 160 miles between Moncton and Plaster Rock aside from tiny little Chipman. The closest the train comes to Fredericton is at McGivney which is a 40 minute drive. After that you have Grand Falls and Edmundston. Once you leave NB and into Quebec there isnt a population center until you hit La Pocatiere. Not a lot of business opportunities for the train through there as you can see.
The Ocean needs to stay where it is. If the track got fixed and that ridiculous stop at St Foy got moved back out to Charny it would get the arrival time into Moncton back to around 10-1030 where it always used to be. You’d be in Halifax by 4. I doubt itll ever happen though.
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I know the reason is finances and money and all the usual excuses... but it seems to me the obvious question is "Why not both?"
Run the Ocean on the main route so travelers from Montreal to Moncton and Nova Scotia can go direct more or less. And have a stub train that goes up to Northern NB and the Gaspe to Montreal along the old route to serve those communities.
If the train is so important to those communities, than they should be able to support a line that isn't part of the overall Ocean. And they could pick up the rest of the rail network at Montreal and Moncton (or more likely QC and Moncton).
It would also restore Moncton as a hub; especially if it could be extended to add rail service to Saint John and another line for more regular service to Halifax.
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