Journey to the East(ern Canada) - VIA Rail and Moncton

This is where my trip gets interesting, as I wanted to get from Quebec to New Brunswick without the hassle of flying. I could have taken an overnight bus, but VIA Rail, Canada's passenger train company, offered an overnight train that also advertised itself as a sightseeing trip. I've always wanted to try the VIA experience, including their notoriety for inconsistency. For the 200% chance we got delayed, I prepared an Airbnb in Moncton to stay the night.

I had actually built my entire trip's schedule on tonight's Wednesday train, as the price was 1/3 of what it normally is. On top of hunting for deals such as their Tuesday discount, I managed to get the price down to $120 one way. Comparable to budget airlines, yet still expensive compared to other commuter train standards. It is what it is.

Anyway, day 0 and day 1 are split between my night on the train and my night in Moncton, hence why I combined two short sections into one blog.

Day 0 - To VIA Rail

At this point, I've just had a fairly expensive duck confit in Old Quebec and made my way to the Quebec train and bus station. I had paid for a shuttle service that was supposed to take me to the Sainte-Foy train station where I was going to depart. At least my ticket said as much, but at 8:30 PM I didn't see any shuttle or anyone coming to pick me up. According to the website it stops in front of the station, but in retrospect, I'm still debating whether the shuttle was late, actually stopped at the bus terminal, or was one of the normal cars that didn't indicate they were with VIA.

Nevertheless, I couldn't afford to miss this train, so after 10 minutes of waiting, I took the metro bus 800 West to Sainte-Foy. Once again thankful for the speedy service of the metro busses, even at this time of night when they only run every 15 minutes. What I wasn't thankful for was my major miscalculation. You see, in my rush to get to the bus, I had searched directions for Gare de Sainte-Foy, Gare being the word for station in English. However, it turns out that the bus and train stations, both prefaced with Gare, are separate buildings 3.5 KM apart. So once I got off the bus terminal I realized my mistake too late. If I had planned this properly, I would have gotten off earlier and transferred to the airport bus 72, which only runs once every hour. So here I was stranded at the wrong place, but 3.5 KM was just close enough that I could hustle over...

I ain't gonna sugarcoat it, I probably should have called an Uber. Even if no Uber were nearby, the 10-minute drive would have probably been less stressful but way less exhilarating than my next 40 minutes, busting my ass through freeways, parks, and city streets. I was cutting through intersections, crossing 6-lane freeways, staving off the sweat and pain in my leg as I sprinted in short bursts so I didn't have to stop moving. My pictures were as hectic as I was feeling. That is to say, utter resolve in the face of not following that damn train!

I had to crawl over construction sites and dirt piles. One road was replacing water pipes and so the whole street was one giant hole. I've never felt more emboldened as I balanced my luggage over pipes and makeshift walkways, pulled myself through the mud, and actually managed to walk to the train terminal in time. Oh lord bless the great faith above us for VIA significant delay, it wouldn't be my country's train service without significant delays literally everywhere.

Making it in 15 minutes, I at least had the time to wipe the sweat and blood off my face and clean all the mud stuck to everything. I even managed to destroy the wheels on my suitcase.

Could this have been avoided? Yes. Did I regret this afterwords. Absolutely not, what an exhilarating adventure that was.

Okay Now let's actually talk about VIA

There was an earlier train that ran between Quebec and Ontario. I was pretty impressed just by the exterior, with its electronic displays showing information, electric staircases, and clean carts. Definitely, still, a giant diesel guzzler that probably can't top 50 KM/H, but at least it looks sorta nice. Then I saw our train, and it looked about as old as Toronto's subways. That is to say plain sheet metal exterior and the appeal of a 20th-century can of sardines. Turns out that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, many older things were just built to a higher standard. My economy seat with its leather cushions and excellent legroom felt better than any business class flight.

The train wasn't fully booked, so I had the second seat next to me as well. Still, trying to sleep was uncomfortable, which is saying a lot for someone who just ran a short marathon earlier. Let's put it like this, you're sitting in a nice, business-class seat on a mid-range airliner. Seats are comfy and legroom isn't an issue. The lights in the cabin are kept on the whole night, so lying down in the fetal position means you get blasted by the ceiling lights. Also, I'm too tall to fetal position, so I'm just sleeping upright. The train, or plane in this metaphor, is also in constant turbulence and shows no signs of stopping. Your head is constantly bobbing about, and your stomach begins to feel the effects. I'm envious of anyone who can sleep through that, I really wish I could.

Day 1 - Train to Moncton

Now that I'm properly awake to write this blog, let me just jot down everything I noticed so far. This shall be coming from a fella who's ridden the transits of my previous Canadian cities, and the trains in China:

• Bathrooms are fairly clean and spacious, at least much cleaner than airplanes. Everyone is lining up in the morning
• Waking up to an announcement that so unashamedly announces we're an hour and thirty minutes behind schedule has looped around to earning my respect lol
• Food is served in the dining cart and is paid for non-business-class people. Honestly, even the advertisements make everything so unappealing. I bought my own sandwiches in Quebec
• Stretches of tracks vary in quality. From a pretty comfortable ride, to slower and bumpier, and even some sections that are sinking on one side so the whole train is tilted
  • The quality of leaving Quebec and into New Brunswick really falls off the further along the track we went
  • Since CNN owns the rails that VIA travels on, they're the ones responsible for maintenance. Clearly, they have priorities.
• Speeds are affected by the track, and so the nice, faster sections in Quebec slow down to around 30-50 Km/h in the forests of New Brunswick. We definitely could be going faster on the straight line if only there were more investment in track maintenance.
• The sights are pretty at least. Seeing the environment change from the fields of Quebec to the forests and marshes of the maritime is really something special. Most of the time though we were just cutting through dense forest.

Moncton For Real This Time

Actually arriving at Moncton, I found myself exiting the bus terminal and stranded in a massive parking lot. I've become so spoiled to dense Quebec that I've forgotten the feeling of walking through big box stores and bigger asphalt slabs. It was raining slightly when I was there, but the sidewalks were virtually empty, with a moderate amount of traffic getting in the way as I walked to my Airbnb. Most of the city itself is just housing, with the occasional park and historic building with their iconic dark brown de-coloring.

I got myself set up in time to take a stroll through the evening. There really isn't much to see on foot outside the downtown core, nothing but roads, cars, and almost getting run over at a crosswalk.

Downtown itself was pretty nice for its small size. Everything felt fairly unified and clean, with a couple of outdoor patios and a main plaza with those comfy red chairs that can be seen through Canada. The sidewalks in the core are made of bricks, just something I thought worth bringing up. Moncton also has a nice long trail that follows the river, a great spot for biking and watching the tidal bore. I also didn't even realize I had visited during Moncton's Rib Festival, so I got to see an outdoor festival with music and food. I didn't stay for the tribute to The Tragically Hip, but everyone there was chill and it felt like I was a part of a small community.

Day 2 - Off to PEI

Today was a much nicer day, which probably improved my mood and perception of this city. Before I left I went to grab a sandwich from a local shop. Listening to all the locals recognizing and talking was a nice change of pace from the bigger cities I'd visited earlier.

And that's my brief stay in Moncton. It is a bit of a shame to only stay in New Brunswick for one night, but I just couldn't fit Fredericton into my schedule. While I don't really see myself coming back to this province, I can tell that it is a lovely place with lots of natural wonders to discover.