Thanks for having me on Miles, it was a blast riding VIA Rail for 13 minutes to get you your points 🤓 Much like the shuttle bus that it shouldn't have been possible to book, the VIA service manager came to talk to me on board and explained that my trip from Anjou to Sauvé shouldn't have been bookable either (they're not supposed to compete with commuter trains within Montreal or Toronto apparently). So as the channel tagline says, Miles pushes transit to its limits - but here we basically managed to break VIA Rail twice in the space of a week 😅 And finally, for those who like fun facts: at 14:39 the VIA Rail employee (?) says, in French, that your replacement taxi ride is being provided "courtesy of Her Majesty the Queen" - even though Charles has been king of Canada for months now 👑

I'm kinda shocked that this wasn't apparently a trip report.

Saint-Lambert isn't Anglo! The way Aleena said it at 6:33 is correct! Saint-Lambert was named for the early French-Canadian hunter Raphaël Lambert Closse! He was originally born in Mogues in the Ardennes department of today's northern France. When he made it to Quebec, he became a public notary, as well as Sergeant Major of the garrison of Ville-Marie (now Montreal). He is known for fighting the Iroquois and exhibited many combat tactics that allowed him to win several fights. He met his wife Elisabeth Moyen while rescuing her from the Iroquois in 1657. However, this marriage didn't last long as he ended up dying in combat fighting the Iroquois in 1662. Also I love the different flags at 10:23. The Atlantic side of Canada hands down has the best provincial flags. On the Newfoundland and Labrador flag, the flag design is that of etchings on Beothuk and Innu decorative pendants worn hung from a cord around the neck. Blue for water, white for snow, red for effort, gold for their confidence. On the New Brunswick flag, the big lymphad evokes NB's historical shipbuilding industry and the ships utilized by numerous Loyalists to land in the province after they fled the US after the American Revolution. PEI's flag has a large oak tree with three saplings. One for England, and the three represent the island's counties. Taken altogether, the trees tie in with the province's motto of Parva sub ingenti ("the small under the protection of the great". The three oak saplings are interpreted as the descendants of the British oak tree and are guarded by the British lion.

Fun fact if you take the Ocean: Montreal and Halifax were previously served by the Atlantic, which cut through Maine instead of going around. At the time it was cut in 1994, it was the only passenger rail service in Maine as the Downeaster hadn't started yet. Now that's a fun fact!

A science park is like a business park, but it’s labs instead of offices.

Via Rail has done an incredible job of combining the worst parts of air travel and the worst parts of rail travel.

When the station employee helped you into the taxi he said in French "Courtesy of her majesty the queen" 😅 That must be Canadian slang for "the Canadian taxpayers"

Alright Miles, When the Northlander train returns in 2026(?) we collectively would love to see a video of you and Aleena traveling to Moosenee via Cochrane than eastward to Senneterre and onward to Montreal for an epic remote regional train trip report.

Interesting to see inside the 'Renaissance' cars since we never actually got those Eurostar sleeper services 😔

The best part about Via is the operating staff. For whatever reason, they go out of their way to hold this ramshackle network together. I knew one SM on the Jaasper-Prince Rupert run would run impromptu art contests while the train was delayed for hours in the middle of nowhere. He’d decorate the bullet lounge of the Park car with passenger’s art projects. I’ve only done a quick jaunt on the Ocean, and that was in those tiny British cars. You sure get bounced around in those light little things. Hope to get out east and do the whole thing someday, preferably in a Chateau sleeper!

12:30 Actually many years ago the train was not crossing the Quebec bridge to Sainte-Foy and was instead stopping at the south shore in Charny, but they removed the staff at the station as a cost cutting mesure so they deviated the train to the Sainte-Foy staffed station

I hate when companies do that, collect our reward points*! (*Only for purchases above $X, not including discounted articles, dairy, meat, garden and outdoor. Only when purchased with an XXXX card between 7/11-8/11, except during peak hours.) The cabin did feel very retro so that's nice

That band really took iconic songs, said "It's free real estate", turned them into something new, and honestly I respect the grind! On the topic of famous songs in other languages, have you ever listened to the full German version of I'm A Believer, Mit all deiner Liebe by Jack White? I was introduced to it through the Jojo Rabbit official trailer and it's even better than the original! I also believe the Spanish version of Chiquitita by ABBA is vastly better than the English version, maybe because Spanish and the other Romance languages just sound so beautiful in general, especially in music. All it took for Salvador Sobral to win Eurovision back in 2017 was to win the hearts of Europe through the emotion of Portuguese. And kudos to Phil Collins for doing the Tarzan songs in not just English but also Spanish, French, Italian, and German. Sainte-Foy was the site of the Battle of Sainte-Foy during the French and Indian War theater of the Seven Years' War when in April 1760, the French won in a difficult battle with over 800 French casualties and over 1,100 British casualties. Despite winning the battle, the French couldn't retake Quebec City (or just Québec), and so this battle was the very last French victory in the Seven Years' War. Québec comes from the Algonquin word Kébec, meaning "where the river narrows".

My husband and I stayed overnight in that room. We we’re going to the Canadian Rockies. The upper bunk was very comfy. The observation car was awesome.

it isn’t a MIT canadian adventure without a CANADIAN DOLLARS jumpscare

I think the shuttle from Québec Ste Foy to Québec Gare du Palais is indeed the only Via Rail "bus" you can book. There is also a shuttle from Dorval station to Montréal Trudeau Airport, but you can't actually book it, you just show up and get on for free. Until the pandemic you could also book Maritime Bus trips through the Via Rail website, so for example you could buy a through ticket from Montréal QC to Charlottetown PEI with a timed transfer to Maritime Bus in Moncton NB, then a timed transfer to another bus in Amherst NS. The bus trips still run but they no longer show up on the Via website. There also used to be Maritime Bus service to Rivière Du Loup QC (though admittedly the transfer to the Ocean would suck there since the train passes through at 3AM), but Maritime Bus lost their license to operate in Québec so now their network has been cut back to Edmundston, severing the connections which used to allow through trips from the Maritimes to Québec and Montréal via Orléans Express.

What a world we live in, the Les Merseys greatest hits album is available right here on KZfaq for everyone's pleasure! Taking recent English or American hit songs and replacing the lyrics with something totally new was also common practice in Italy during the Beat era: one of the most famous examples is Adriano Celentano's "Pregherò" (I'll pray) which is just Stand By Me with some Italian lyrics that say something completely different.

Great video, it makes me want to ride VIA Rail! And the shuttle debacle reminds me of back in the 90s, I think I single-handedly got the Hartford, CT to Manchester, CT Greyhound segment discontinued, because I was the only one that ever took it. I don't think they realized it was even on the schedule!

"Why is this a thing?" Robert Moses asked himself, whenever he saw public transit 💀The thing at 5:29 is because of a gas pipeline, as the sign above it states! As it said at 2:28, Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour was once Governor of Acadia (though they spelled it Arcadia...which is a Peloponnese region). When he became Governor in 1631, he relocated to St John in what is now New Brunswick. In July 1640, he (a Protestant) and Charles de Menou d'Aulnay (a Catholic) began a series of confrontations that would last five years as the result of different sections of land granted in the same area. By 1642, d'Aulnay managed to get La Tour charged against the French Crown. Knowing he would be imprisoned, La Tour sent his wife to advocate on his behalf, and she returned with a warship to help her husband defend himself. In 1643, La Tour led a party of English mercenaries against the Acadian colony at Port-Royal. His 270 Puritan and Huguenot troops killed three, burned a mill, and seized 18,000 livres of furs. In 1645, while La Tour was in Boston seeking reinforcements and drumming up more support for his cause, d'Aulnay retaliated by seizing all of La Tour's possessions and outposts. His wife died at age 23 while a prisoner. Upon learning of his wife's death, and the loss of all his possessions, La Tour went into exile and sought refuge at the Chateau Saint-Louis in Quebec City.

On the one hand, I'm worried VIA Rail management is gonna stumble across this vid On the other hand, I think they have much MUCH more pressing issues to worry about

Fun fact, Canadian Railways operate in imperial measurements. So their speeds are in MPH and the gauge is in inches. Seems very strange but that’s the way they do it.

No Miles, you cannot use your internet clout to stop me from subscribing.

Miles, when you do the entire Océan, I think it'd be worth the adventure to precede it with a trip up through Maine on Concord Coach/Cyr Bus Lines/Maritime Bus roughly parallel to the old B&M/MEC/CP/CN Gull sleeper train (which should be brought back ASAP, btw), assuming the Customs office at the ME/NB border will let you stay overnight waiting for your connection to the Maritime Bus at Perth-Andover or wherever's the closest to where Cyr ends its route

Greetings from Toronto, Canada! I'm very pleased about your in-depth review of the VIA Rail service to Quebec City (heck, I havent been on a VIA Rail train myself in my life) - but despite your observations during your filming, the review ain't bad.

You should visit the Canadian city where Amtrak provides more frequent service than VIA Rail.

Not to spoil anything but I do have a price alert set for flights from Halifax…

Yo, you just missed the part where the Via employee said "A cab ride courtesy of our majesty the Queen." 14:38 Which is true because Via's a "Crown corporation".

Love your channel!!

The only place to take the old Budd cars in the States is on the Carolian service, which I think you have been on before. This trip and the Ocean in general is definitely on my bucket list.

Great video, as always. It’s strange seeing stock very similar to my local trains (the Mk 4 coaches) kitted out completely differently, that coach seating is really weird.

Pros and cons of VIA in my opinion: VIA Rail Cons: - airport style boarding - infrequent train service - high prices - low priority over freight trains (this translates into low speeds & delays) - lack of infrastructure surrounding VIA rail stations VIA Rail Pros: - Issues are theoretically being addressed (HFR, HSR, & Baggage policy) - new Siemens fleet is better aesthetically and functionally - more time to be productive (work) - you can enjoy Canadian scenery - connections to Amtrak You can be productive with your time in planes, & enjoy scenery in your car if you go to the right places. Overall, you can see why taking the car or plane is more practical for most people.

Once I was hiking in a little gorge and I got to see The Ocean fly by up above, and it was probably my greatest foamer freak out TBH.

Those British cars, were built to operate EuroNight services - night trains through the Channel Tunnel from regional cities to France. The services were cancelled before starting..

My feeling taking both VIA and Amtrak is that VIA is a bit better in terms of service and cleanliness and amenities despite being ultimately very similar and not really going very many places very often Maybe this is the Canadian in me but I can't help but feel it's a pattern with us - we are very proud to be slightly better in some ways and just ignore the things that aren't

Everything about this trip screams 1972 to me

Miles I’ve got a challenger for you. Cross the GTHA east to west, or west to east, using only local transit. No GO or VIA. And you have to use busses, streetcars, and 2/3 operating subway lines. Bonus points if you look disappointed towards the Eglington LRT project

Those Renaissance carriages were built for overnight services between England, France and Belgium but at some point, after they had already built the rolling stock!!!!,it was decided not to proceed with the overnight services.At least they didn't build locomotives to pull the stock and had just adapted various existing freight locomotives.

Same room I was in to Churchill MB, I’m sure the door rattled at some point

Via Rail prides itself in making the boarding process as time-consuming and inconvenient as humanly possible. They're updating the baggage policy on the 18th of November to add more restrictions on bags and create even more arguments in the station before boarding!

Wow I'm really surprised Via actually lets you book from Anjou to Sauvé! Great video btw, makes me want to try the Ocean to Halifax.

9:29 I LITERALLY THOUGHT IT WAS WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS AS WELL

I noticed you didn't test the hammer for the window, no clue if that works or not now...

The bridge from Charny to Saint Foy is the Quebec Bridge, which infamously took 30 years and 3 attempts to build. The failure and collapse of the first 2 versions of the bridge killed 88 workers. Over the years it’s lost most of its rail lines (and at one point a streetcar line) to highway lanes. It’s down to the one rail line now. There used to be a rail connection that ran along the riverbank up to Quebec City, but it was torn out for a highway. (BOO!!) That’s why the only connection to Gare Du Palais is that long deviation up and over the city, even the Corridor has to use that after stopping at Saint Foy.

7:24 In Canada 91 mph is really 146 km/h

Great video! And yes, the trip all the way to Halifax is a great one. Fun fact: prior to the 2000s, there was a station at Levis, across the St. Lawrence from Quebec City. The Ocean used to stop there and passengers would be ferried by boat to the downtown, avoiding the train having to go in and out of Ste. Foy.

You should do the Toronto - Vancouver route one day, I've heard it's a amazing trip. I have yet to try it but it's definitely on my list.

Fun trip and thanks for adding actual Canadian authenticity to this Points Run/Trip Report.

Luv these types of vids

8:23 The vanity lighting made the video look like an indie film or a still from the Joker movie LOL

Hope that while you were in Montreal, you tried the REM! I really like it and which you come back to Montreal for more videos!

There are 0 other channels for which I would read a single of the comments, let alone ALL of them. Outstanding video.

When I was watching this video at first I was envious about the idea of going to a foreign country to ride trains before realizing that I live in a foreign country and do ride trains here.

The Renaissance cars are special because they were originally purchased for overnight Eurostar services through the channel tunnel before the idea got killed.

Miles en Transit est un foameur! #NowThatsAFunFact

I'm very annoyed that it's setup like an airport, what happened to just waiting on a platform for the train, its ridiculous.

Halifax mentioned!!! 😁 (I’m from Halifax and sadly I’ve never taken VIA… but I would love to do the Ocean to Montreal someday. It’s just… so… slow…)

Those British built cars were originally designed amd built by metro camel for Nightstar which would have run from thr UK to continental europe via the channel tunnel link.

Cool trip.... Always makes me laugh 😂

I've never thought about points runs for trains. Flying yes. That's the main reason I'm flying to Boston in a few weeks. Just for the points and to secure next year's status.

VIA rail also has a free shuttle bus from Dorval QC station to Dorval Montreal Trudeau International Airport.

The Ocean is a fantastic trip. I last took it in the fall of 2016. Took 26 hours in total, and I did it in coach (Renaissance car) because sleeper class cost a bloody fortune.

btw, if you want the really really old car, way unique experience. the montreal-jonquiere train 600 and 601 hasnt been refreshed or upgraded AT ALL in decades. Max speed is 75kmh, and thats on rare straightaways, everything else 30-40. you gotta try it, because its kinda comfy tho ngl.

Dude, that car was like something I've seen in a museum. It was all current and up to date if the date was 1956! Once again Aleena rocks.

I live in Quebec City! Too bad we couldn’t have a fan meet up

That was funny you using term former. Chasing the foam.

Why my grandma loved taking via if something happens on the trip they will find a way to get you to where you booked with them and depended on delays they will pay to put u in a hotel or feed you etc .. this is why when the employee at via seen your ticket they paid for your cab .. they guarantee this when you book with them

You can actually track your train and its speed in real-time on via rail's website!!

For some reason there's a French song called Santiano, but that's about the California version where most English versions are about the Mexican-American War (albeit often inaccurate because Santa Ana dies when he actually outlived president Taylor). There is an English version with the '49 Gold Rush, but the French version uses San Francisco where the English version is Californio

Miles, I have that exact same shirt!!!!!! The guy who makes them had a stand at the San Gannero festival in NYC lol. But yeah, I rode the Ocean back in 2004 the whole way from Halifax to Montreal. Don't think the Renaissance cars were on the property yet, or just weren't in service on that train. Now here is a "fun fact" - the Ocean is the oldest continuously -operated named passenger train in North America.

bilingual menu shot! what a treat

Dude, I have to give you credit. You combined a railfanning trip with a romantic couple’s trip.

The McDonald's in Montreal's Gare Central Station, whose outdoor signage is seen around 0:47, was always my favourite McDonald's to go to when I was a teenager/young adult in the 1990s. It was pretty laid-back for a downtown McDonald's, at least on weekends, and I liked hearing the Via Rail announcements because they were preceded by a jingle that sounded suspiciously similar to the opening notes of the original Star Trek theme.

If you come to Halifax, maybe we can get together and I can show you round.

That room is amazing! Wish Amtrak rooms were that spacious!

The fact that they got you a taxi is very reminiscent of SNCF (which is probably the coolest train company in the world) since they can schedule basically your whole itinerary. Very French of the Canadians!

Those UK made cars were supposed to be used through the channel tunnel, watched them being commisioned in the mid 90's on tracks in Birmingham near where I worked down the road from the Alsthom plant. At the time they were still intended for their original use but then that project got cancelled and eventually they were sold and sent to Canada. Amazed they still have their original colour scheme.

So sad the uk didn’t get international night trains😢

Ressorts Maska is a big truck dealer and repair shop.

The station in Montreal is called Gare-Centrale (Central Station), not Via-Centrale.

Fun fact about Saint-Hyacinthe: It is home to one of the few remaining railway grade crossings that crosses a controlled-access highway! Its a freight spur, so they've never seen a reason to grade separate the railway crossing. There are other controlled-access grade crossings in Canada, but most of those highways aren't nearly as busy as the A-20.

"wheres my subway surfer?" so real

Reminds me of my wonderful trip on the Canadian in 2022 in a very similar room.

And they are just about to change this as well....

What if they would like in the rest of the world on trains, expcept Amtrak, that is to bring your on luggage on the train so you can board the train without wasting any time?🤔

now that is a fun fact!

At the time of filming, what was the USD/CAD exchange rate? Was 492 CAD a good rate for your 3hr ride? I've only been to Canada once, driving through Calais (Callus)Maine into New Brunswick--you immediately go into another time zone, Atlantic Time , gasoline is in liters and traffic signs are in French--living in Texas but standing on Canadian soil, I felt as if I was halfway to the UK!

Canada might have better made city transportation. But inter-city transportation is just plain non existant.

I'll allow waste basket for the tall trash cans, but I draw the line at the trashcan that stops at your knee. That's a trash can no more no less!

VIA Rail is redoing their website this weekend so hopefully this is a something they fix.

Well Miles, what do you think is the best Passenger train system do you think in North America? Via Rail, or Amtrak?

Did you really have to get the ticket scanned? Amtrak will give you the points as long as you don't ask for a refund. Also I am a subscriber.

i got to ride on the ocean in economy(bri'ish), IT WAS SO AMAZING SOMEHOW.

So you did the Jeb Brooks thing, but when will you do the Trek Trendy thing where you go in the room, set up the camera, then go out and come back in and act like you're seeing the room for the first time?

This video emphasizes the exact reason why it's best to watch your videos to the very end. Definitely an unexpected plot twist. Thanks for sharing!

If you rewind to the last VIA video, I said " I like how they escort you to the train, because I'm disabled, it's good for new travelers and it's a national train so it should have security" someone took issue with that, why that's a controversial opinion is beyond me, but okay. Why the 1st grade field trip bracket? I draw the line there, doesn't that defeat the point of the regular tickets? How does this what I think are older rooms then Amtrak look better then Amtrak? I love how you can adjust the seats, and not be on top of each other like the roomet! I have to ask how often does this happen with the shuttle? But at least they treated you 2 better then Greyhound, can't deny that.

"miles in transit" more like kilometers in transit

I do point runs on amtrak from time to time lol😂

Your shirt in this video has the same design as my cap

Another skyline Miles loves. I just want him to say in a video that the skyline sucks.

points are points.