Back to the Ocean: Summer 2025 travels on trains 15/14

 Back to the Ocean: Summer 2025 travels on trains 15/14

 

VIA 15 boarding passengers at Moncton - distinctive with the last in-service remnants of the Renaissance fleet.

With last year’s cross-Canada trip in the rear-window, this report is going to cover a very recent trip that has a bit of a tangential connection to that previous one. After our Canadian adventure last year, my brother had brought up the idea of coming down to visit me in Halifax and getting in a ride on the Ocean, which he hadn’t done in many years – he’d only ridden to Moncton and back once in 2011. As we got talking more about this idea, we realized that there was a good opportunity coming up as our sister would be visiting Ottawa in mid-August. A plan quickly came together that would see me travel to Ottawa on my own by train, and then the two of us would travel back to Halifax together on #14, with my brother then making the return train trip on his own after our visit. 

So the itinerary for this trip would start in Halifax on August 17^th, as I would ride train 15 to Montreal and connect on 35 to Ottawa, with a Line 1 O-train ride to cap it off. At the end of the week, my brother and I would board train 26 to Montreal, and connect on 14 to ride back to Halifax. After a little over a week of visiting, he’d head back for Ottawa.

 

To Ottawa

We begin this trip on Sunday, August 17. With train 15 departing at 11:30am on the current schedule, I made my way to the station about an hour ahead. No bag to check, but I wanted to ensure I had a bit of extra time, and I had also arranged to meet up with a friend at the station for a chat ahead of time. There was a rather large crowd at the station, with plenty of people boarding in both Economy and Sleeper.

Halifax station, showing off it's spiffy new facade that was just unveiled earlier in the summer.

Halifax station, with a small part of the crowd in view. It would be much busier by the time boarding began.

This particular train fell right in the midst of the Air Canada strike, and a myriad of cancelled flights. VIA’s current long-distance service offering isn’t super well suited to fill that gap, but it is still another option and the remaining space on this train had sold out ahead of departure. There is usually a bit of extra economy space reserved for last-minute bookings at intermediate stations, and I gathered that even these extra spaces ended up sold.

Sleeper check-in started about 50 minutes before departure, with lunch reservations offered for 12pm or 1:30pm, and actual boarding started 40 minutes ahead. Economy followed, boarding about 25 minutes before our scheduled departure time.

 

Heading out to board in Halifax- nice short walk to cars 40 and 41.

Here’s the consist for today’s train:

VIA 15 – August 17, 2025

6401 F40 (forward)

6405 F40 (backward)

7011 Renaissance baggage

70108 Ren accessible coach (“Car zero”)

7512 Ren sleeper (39)

7518 Ren sleeper (38)

7506 Ren sleeper (37)

79501 Ren accessible sleeper (30)

7303 Ren service car (Easterly)

7400 Ren dining car

7308 Ren service car (Economy)

7227 Ren coach (03)

7601 Ren transition

8143 HEP1 coach (04)

8130 HEP1 coach (05)

8107 HEP1 coach (06)

8212 Chateau Latour (40)*Lower berth 2

8201 Chateau Argenson (41)

8223 Chateau  Rigaud (crew)

8609 HEP1 baggage

 

The economy boarding is determined by the crew. On this trip leaving Halifax, the Ren coach had all Moncton-bound passengers (who would be replaced by Moncton-Montreal passengers after that stop), the first HEP coach (04) had all Montreal-bound passengers, car 05 was a mix of Montreal and intermediate stops, and car 06 was all intermediate passengers with about 6 rows taped off to keep them available for overnight stops.

 

I headed down the platform and boarded car 40, which is a short walk from the station in the current configuration. My attendant welcomed me aboard, and I got settled in my lower berth in section 2. There were no other berth passengers boarding in Halifax, but my berth-mate would join me in Truro (she was someone who booked the train last minute – heading to Edmonton! – due to the Air Canada strike), and the other berths would all fill up at Moncton.

Open section berths in Chateau Latour - operating as car 40.

My section, solo occupancy until Truro.

We departed Halifax at 11:32am, 2 minutes off the advertised. As we departed, we were informed that there would be a “bon voyage” toast for sleeper passengers in the accessible Ren coach at the very front of the train, so I made the long walk up that way shortly after we got rolling. This would involve a sparkling wine toast, and a “railway 101” talk from learning coordinator Nathan.

One of the recent improvements to the Ocean’s on board service offering, first rolled out last summer (though inconsistently) is the return of learning coordinators (LC) and some on-board activities. Prior to 2020, the Ocean had an LC in the Park car during peak season, offering wine tastings and information talks, and also maintaining a bar in the Park car and self-serve coffee and tea. These amenities all disappeared with the loss of the Park and service resumption post-Covid, but thanks to the diligent work and encouragement from on board staff, VIA has brought some of this back in the new configuration. Without the Park car, the activities are offered in two places – the service car next to the Ren sleepers, dubbed by crew as the “Easterly” service car (a reference to the old “Easterly class”, which was once the all-inclusive sleeper offering on the Ocean), and the accessible Ren coach at the end of the train, now marked in the consist as “car zero” (Car 0).

The service car is used for most of the educational talks, and also has a self-serve tea and coffee station set up. The canteen is also now being used as a bar, with the LC selling some drinks and snacks. The Bon Voyage toast, wine tasting, and anything else involving alcohol is being done in Car 0 as Transport Canada rules apparently require all passengers to be seated when being offered free alcohol (and there aren’t many seats in the service car). A small white board in the service car provides information about the schedule of activities and where they’ll be taking place. On board musical entertainment has also returned – more on that on the return trip!

In the "Easterly" service car, showing the location of the little activity whiteboard.

Today's schedule of activities, with a helpful diagram for wayfinding in the train!

Relaxing in the service car as we head around the Bedford Basin, with tea and coffee on display. 

 

More service car views, early in the trip before it got too busy in here.

The hastily made "car 0" sign, at the front of car 39 heading to the accessible coach.

The accessible area at the front of the coach. The Learning Coordinator normally sets up around here, with a small cart for the wine tastings.

The accessible Ren coach is mostly being used entirely as extra space for sleeper passengers, as it’s difficult to handle economy passengers separated in a different part of the train. They will still use that space for passengers in economy needing the accessible space, though, and the LCs on this trip mentioned that they also then allow those passengers to be part of the otherwise sleeper-only offerings. If there is no passenger in this car, it will be closed and locked by around 11pm.

 

As I noted above, the LCs first returned last summer, but due to crew shortages the service offering was inconsistent and not available on every departure. This year, VIA trained a bunch of new LCs and also brought on more new staff in general, so it seems they’ve been able to offer this consistently through the summer and should be continuing until the end of October. It appears the crew have been continuing to work on finding ways to improve the offering as well, and hopefully we’ll see this continue to improve each year.

 

I had made a reservation for the second lunch, so made my way up there after the call was made a little while after Truro. In the diner, I found out that another new menu change had just happened about two weeks before this trip, so there were some new options to try, along with familiar ones.

 

Brand new lunch menu.

The classic clam chowder continues as the lunch soup appetizer.

Crab and corn frittata - I thought this was quite tasty, though the asparagus was wildly overcooked.

Brownie for dessert - a new addition. 

After lunch, I enjoyed the afternoon mostly lounging in the service car. Our stop at Moncton saw a lot more passengers board, and our departure was delayed due to a delay in fuelling the locomotives.

Chateau Latour in Moncton.

Looking up the train during our Moncton stop.

In a lapse of record keeping, I realize I neglected to note the supper options – I believe there may actually have been three rather than two sittings, but I can’t recall for sure. I just know that I went for the 8pm option, which was the latest and quietest of the options, with only one half of the diner being used. Some interesting new meal options here too, and I quite enjoyed everything.

The evening was relaxed and quite uneventful, and I enjoyed relaxing with a nice cup of tea from the service car, and then getting cozy in my lower berth.

Bit of rain in the early evening between Rogersville and Miramichi.

Sunny skies again as the evening moved along.

Dinner menu on #15.

"Deconstructed" Greek salad. Honestly, this just seemed like a straight up Greek salad, not sure what they deconstructed. It was good! The tomato bisque was also on offer.

Blueberry BBQ chicken supreme. This was really tasty.

Cherry cheesecake for dessert.

My berth in Chateau Latour viewed from the outside at Campbellton NB.

The next morning began with a beautiful sunrise across the Quebec countryside. We were running a bit late, and would arrive at Ste-Foy for our first stop at around 6:40am. We had completed the baggage at the first stop by 6:48am, but were informed that the new engineers (who would take over for the final Quebec-Montreal leg) had not yet arrived, so we were delayed until about 7:15 before we could move ahead for the second stop. This fresh air break was fairly quick, and then we were back on the move.

One of the best things about a lower berth (much like a roomette) is being able to roll up the window shade and enjoy the morning views from bed.

 

Sunrise on the Quebec countryside. Beautiful way to wake up!

Ste-Foy - at our first stop, but not able to move forward for the second just yet.

Outside at Ste-Foy, beautiful morning.

I made my way for breakfast around 8am, and the last call would be made at 8:40.

Breakfast menu on 15. The Continental was all gone by the time I went, which is a shame, as I've come to quite like that option.

Omelette with all the fixings - an excellent (and filling!) breakfast.

Shortly after Drummondville, the Service Manager announced that passengers connecting to train 65 would not make their connection. This had been removed for the summer due to chronic delays, and most passengers should already have been rebooked on the later 67; but apparently a few hadn’t, and needed to be reaccommodated. Fortunately for me, the connection to 35 would be okay – and I was able to see that train departed Quebec City after we were past, and so would be a ways behind us all the way to Montreal no matter what.

 

We had meets with VIA 20 before Drummondville (at Lemieux), and VIA 22 before St-Hyacinthe (St-Edouard). On our final approach to Montreal we used the diversion on the Victoria bridge, which is always kind of fun, and we would finally arrive in Montreal at 11am, roughly an hour late.

Final morning activities on #15.

Meeting VIA 20, Lemieux.

Meeting 22, St-Edouard.

Over the Richelieu River.

Exo yard at Point St Charles, with Exo's second Siemens Charger locomotive being inspected.

Montreal Business lounge - I quite like the new banners on either side of the entrance.

Departures board in Montreal. 

Upstairs in the station I made my way to the lounge and relaxed for a little while waiting on train 35, which was delayed thanks to the ongoing Venture grade crossing speed restrictions (if you aren’t up to speed on that, check out Eric Gagnon’s ongoing reporting of the issue).

VIA 35 – August 18, 2025

2327 Venture Economy Cab car (05)

2827 Venture Economy (04)

2927 Venture Economy (03)

2727 Venture Business (02) *seat 13A

2627 Venture Business (01)

2227 SCV-42

 

Train 35 finally boarded and departed at 12:27pm, and would get to Ottawa at 2:42pm, about 45min late. That trip was quite smooth and unremarkable, aside from the delay. Once in Ottawa, I made the short walk over to Tremblay station, and a quick ride the rest of the way on the O-Train Line 1.

On board 35.

Business class lunch on 35 - Tandoori chicken (really good), with a pear and goat cheese salad.

 

Beautiful day to be on a train (though really, what day isn't?)

Arriving in Ottawa.

Heading from the station to Tremblay. It's a shame there isn't a direct protected connection into the station, but this is still a very easy (and mostly covered) walk.

Montreal Day-trip

While visiting in Ottawa, my sister raised the idea of making a day-trip to Montreal, where she had lived for years while in school. With a multitude of trains to choose from between Ottawa and Montreal, it was easy to figure out good options to make a nice day of it. We departed Ottawa on train 22, departing at 6:07am and arriving in Montreal at 8:11am, and booked our return on train 37 to depart at 4:30pm and arrive back in Ottawa at 6:36pm.

 

Our trains for the day were:

 

VIA 22 – August 20, 2025

2208 SCV-42

2607 Venture Business (01)

2707 Venture Business (02)

2907 Venture Economy (03)

2807 Venture Economy (04)

2307 Venture Economy Cab car *Seats 10A/10B

 

 

VIA 37 – August 20, 2025

2322 Venture Economy Cab car (05)

2822 Venture Economy (04)

2922 Venture Economy (03) *Seats 16D/16C

2722 Venture Business (02)

2622 Venture Business (01)

2222 SCV-42

 

The trips in both direction were pretty smooth and uneventful, aside from delays to the returning train 37 (almost an hour late in Ottawa). Both trains were fairly busy.

On board train 22.

The cab cars have a luggage tower mid-car, directly across from seats 10A/10B. I was curious about how much it obscured the view, so here's the answer! With no luggage in it, not bad. Of course full of bags, you'd lose this view.

 

Typical Eastern Ontario views. You can just see that seats 10A/B in the cab car also have a divider wall behind, separating them from the next row. Not sure the exact purpose of this. 

Montreal.

Down by the old port.

Montreal! View from the mountain. It's a good hike, but well worth it for the views.

After a fun day in the city, it's back to Ottawa.

Departing Ottawa, we pace train 26 as it leaves on its way to Quebec.

Passing an Exo train on the way out of Montreal.

Back in Ottawa, on the high platform.

Speaking of these Venture trains, it’s notable that not all seats have great window alignment (and some have no window at all!). Since VIA hasn’t ever made this information available, I was able to put together a diagram based on info from a Siemens sales package that had been available online, showing the position of seats and windows in each car type. I was able to check this over during these several Venture trips and verified that it does align very closely – that diagram is now included in my Venture overview post, so feel free to check that out and make use of it when booking! As VIA starts to roll out different Venture configurations (lengthened 7-car sets and shorter double 3-car J-train sets), you’ll need to pay attention to see which car type is where – but that’s easy enough to do by looking at the bathrooms shown for each car.

 

 

Back to Halifax

After the week in Ottawa, my brother and I headed out for our trip to Halifax. We started out on the O-train to the station, and then made our way to the lounge for a short while before boarding started. We would board on the high platform nearest the station, which is always nice.

Our train viewed from the Ottawa Business lounge. The Ottawa lounge is probably the best of the big three (Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal), as far as I'm concerned.

 

Boarding our train from Ottawa's single high platform.

VIA 26 – August 22, 2025

2228 SCV-42

2628 Venture Business (01)

2728 Venture Business (02) *Seats 6A/6B

2928 Venture Economy (03)

2828 Venture Economy (04)

2328 Venture Economy Cab car (05)

 

We departed 2 minutes early (2:15pm), and had a smooth trip to Montreal. The only issue was problematic WiFi on the train, but that wasn’t an issue for either of us.

 

Light cold lunch on #26, smoked salmon (other option was a cheese plate) - with cream cheese, pickles and nice crackers, actually a pretty decent light lunch. With a little snack before and additional chocolate after, it was plenty.

Hey look, our next train! We had to pause briefly as the equipment for #14 deadheaded to the station, just as we were arriving.

After arrival in Montreal, we stored our carry-on bags at the baggage counter (which is free for sleeper passengers), and then took a little while to walk around outside, checking out the old Windsor Station and the newly renovated Lucien-L’Allier Exo station.

 

As we got closer to scheduled departure, we found out that train 64 (the connection from Toronto) was delayed due to a fire near the tracks in Napanee, which had delayed all trains. With 35 passengers connecting to our train, we would of course be waiting for them. Still, sleeper check-in commenced around 5:40pm, and boarding started at 6pm, with dinner options at 7pm or 9pm. The first dinner would commence while the train was still in the station. We opted for the second so that we’d have dinner on the move.

 

This way to Halifax! In a bit of a blur...

As we made our way down to the platform, we found our train awaiting with the consist below.

 

VIA 14 – August 22, 2025

6405 F40 (forward)

6401 F40 (backward)

8620 HEP1 baggage

8228 Chateau Verchères (crew)

8220 Chateau Papineau (41)

8219 Chateau Montcalm (40)

8129 HEP1 coach (06)

8131 HEP1 coach (05)

8100 HEP1 coach (04)

7602 Renaissance transition

7208 Ren coach (03)

7314 Ren service car (Economy)

7402 Ren dining car Ren service car (Easterly)

7312 Ren service car (Easterly)

79515 Ren accessible sleeper (30)

7520 Ren sleeper (37)

7522 Ren sleeper (38) *Room 5

7519 Ren sleeper (39)

70230 Ren accessible coach (car 0)

7003 Ren baggage

 

We had initially been booked in upper/lower berths, but closer to the date a handful of Renaissance bedrooms opened up. Knowing my brother had a berth for his return trip and wanting to provide some variety, I changed our booking over to a Renaissance cabin instead. With the current train set up, this definitely makes it much, much easier to get to and from the dining car, the Easterly service car, and car zero!

 

The Bon Voyage reception was held in car zero at 6:45 and again at 7:30, with the early option giving us something to do while we waited on departure. Train 64 would finally roll up on the adjacent platform at 7:20, and we departed at 7:38 (only to have to stop before the bridge to wait on CN 121).

 

Our LC for this trip was Bridget, who used to do the job regularly in the days of the Park car, and always brings an infectious enthusiasm to the entire program. In addition to her talks and activities, we also had a musician onboard – Nick Posthumus, who was travelling with his sister to Halifax to visit friends and perform. The travelling musician program, which disappeared for a while post-Covid, allows musical performers to travel on VIA’s long distance trains for free in exchange for a number of performances during the trip. Nick performed in both the Easterly and Economy service cars several times during the trip, and was also just a real pleasure to chat with. An excellent addition to the whole experience!

 

Schedule for the evening on #14.

Departing Montreal, passing an Exo commuter train with the REM elevated line above.

Supper at 9pm was excellent, even if late, and we would then have a brief stretch outside at Ste-Foy. Not long after that we got wound down and off to bed, with a plan to get up at a decent time for breakfast.

 

Dinner menu on #14.

Beet carpaccio - excellent! The soup was the tomato bisque, which is always delicious.

The chicken meal - the rotisserie sauce was very much like Swiss Chalet, and the whole thing was really good.

Maple mustard salmon - this was apparently very good too (and I did try a bite) - this was the most popular option too, with only one left when our table ordered.

Brownie again, same as lunch on #15.

Ste-Foy, QC.

The next morning we arrived at Campbellton around 9:35am Atlantic time. We had initially planned to be up earlier, but both slept in a bit and just dragged ourselves out of bed to step outside. The last call for breakfast came just after leaving Campbellton, and we made our way there straight away.

Campbellton, NB.

Breakfast menu. I believe the continental was all gone again by the time we went for breakfast. Always popular! 

Crepes - these were good, but confusing - the inside was like an omelette, and the doughy outside messed with my head a little bit.

Schedule for the day.

A rainy morning, which made capturing photos of the views along the Baie des Chaleurs difficult. Still easy to enjoy!

Though not named, each Renaissance sleeper has a theme featured on artwork at the end of the car and in each bedroom. Our car - 7522 - was themed for the Cabot Trail, which was quite appropriate as we'd be heading there a few days later. 

Another take on the "Car 0" sign.

The rest of the morning was quite relaxed, with a nice atmosphere on board. The only issue we ran into was overly hot water in the shower in our room, which made it hard to take a really comfortable shower. Otherwise, everything worked as it should.

 

Lunch options were at 12 and 2pm, and we opted for the later option, which had us wrapped up lunch before arrival in Moncton.

 

Lunch menu.

Lobster roll - actually very good, though it felt like it could use a side. There was chowder on offer as a starter, not pictured.

Carrot cake dessert. Not bad, but not as good as the one they've had for the last few years.

Moncton stop.

Following the Memramcook River.

Along the Memramcook.

Dorchester Penitentiary.

The afternoon continued smoothly, with beautiful weather outside, and eventually a pretty impressive sunset. Given our late running, the crew announced that a light soup and sandwich supper would be on offer for sleeper passengers in the dining car, first come first served, from 5:30 to 6:30pm. Economy passengers were offered some complimentary food at their seats. The food wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was a nice touch and particularly nice to be able to have in the dining car ambience.

 

Soup and sandwich bonus late-train meal. Sandwich options for egg salad (pictured), ham salad, or turkey and Swiss, with a vegetable soup. Neither were anything special, but it was nice to have the extra food and to be able to eat in the dining car again.

Bonus meal views, crossing the Tantramar marshes.

Folly Lake.

We had a very large group boarding at Truro, so the vestibule by the service car was opened and we were invited to step out briefly for an extra fresh air stop. 

Beautiful early evening light at Truro.

Sunset on the Stewiacke River. Ongoing wildfires in the Annapolis Valley were responsible for the thick haze and vibrant colour.

Our final slight delay would come at Kinsac as we had a short wait to meet CN 121 (the second of this train we met on the trip!), and our final arrival in Halifax would be at 9:13pm, about 2h40min late. The latest schedule revision, which went into effect earlier this summer, adds about half an hour of padding to the schedule of #14 going east between Truro and Halifax. This allows the train to “make up” some time after Truro, though it didn’t make a huge difference in our case. Chronic heat and trackwork related slow orders caused major delays all summer, even with the lengthened and padded schedules. The situation seems to be improving a bit as we move into the fall, but it is still a sad state of affairs.

 

All in all, this was a really nice trip. My brother also enjoyed getting to take in the current Ocean experience, and while he also recognized it as a definite step down from the Canadian (and it feels very short after making that trip!), he still really enjoyed it, and would ultimately have a smooth trip back as well.

Over the following week we had a nice time touring Halifax, and a several day road-trip around Cape Breton. Not much train related – though we did stop by the train station inn in Tatamagouche – but I’ll include a few photos here just because it’s a beautiful area!

Halifax sunset from Dartmouth, over the ferry. I always recommend a ride on the ferry for any visitors in Halifax, a great way to see the harbour, and for just a standard transit fare.

Sunset on the Mira, near Marion Bridge (where we stayed for a few days).

Along the Cabot Trail - much more impressive in-person than in the photos on the walls of our sleeper!

More Cabot Trail views, with the sun starting to settle low in the sky.

Train Station Inn, Tatamagouche. Great atmosphere with live music on the platform.

Train Station Inn, Tatmagouche - they have a series of old cabooses converted into hotel rooms, as well as this dining car for sit-down meal service, and a lounge car next to it. Such a neat spot! The dining car was very popular, though, so no room for walk-up customers.

View of Halifax from George's Island. The historic site is now easily accessible, as Ambassatours runs ferry services from downtown to the island every day through the summer, and on weekends into the off-season. It's well worth the visit, both for the excellent views and the fascinating history.

At the end of all that, my brother headed out back toward Ottawa, and after bidding him farewell I popped out to the Young Ave overpass to watch his train leave – so we’ll cap off this post with those parting views.

My brother's return train - the Aug. 31 departure of #15 - rounds the bend out of Halifax. The cruise ship in the background is the brand new Virgin Voyages Brilliant Lady, making a publicity stop on its way to its first revenue cruise. Richard Branson was even in town for the event.

Transition...Renaissance to HEP.

Away he goes! Off for a great trip.

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading along as always, now that we’re back into more familiar territory. See you next time!

VIA 15 zips across Shore Dr. pedestrian crossing in Bedford, September 14, 2025