All aboard The Ocean Train

One of the big adventures on this trip was to take the overnight train over 800 miles from Montreal to Halifax. A scheduled journey of 23 hours, which actually took nearly 26, through three provinces, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and crossing a time zone taking us one hour closer to UK time.

The train was due to leave at 6.30pm, so we arrived at the station in plenty of time. On this train we could check in some of our bags to make more space in the cabin. This was an easy process but just like an aircraft there’s a weight limit for each piece of luggage, which seems a little strange as it’s only going in a train carriage. Our luggage was within the weight limit so no problem there. Then we just had to cross the station concourse to the first class lounge. At the entrance to the lounge our tickets were checked and I reminded them that we would need assistance for Racheal to board the train. There was a little wait before we had to join a queue to check in for the journey and choose which meal sitting we preferred. In our case, meals would be served in our room as Racheal wouldn’t be able to get to the dining car. At this point two members of staff were called to help us down to the platform. One took our luggage and delivered it directly to our room while the other operated the stair lift to enable Racheal to get to the platform. At Montréal, the platform is at the right level to access the train and we were shown to the door directly adjacent to the accessible room. Summer had the room next door.

As there was still half an hour or so before the train was due to leave, we took the opportunity to explore the room which had a bench seat which converted into a bed with a fold down bunk above, two fold down tables and some storage space. A curtain divided this area from the bathroom area which had a toilet with grab rails, a sink with space beneath for a wheelchair user and more storage space. There was another curtain which just screened the toilet so we chose to keep the centre curtain open as it made the room more spacious. Toiletries, bottles of drinking water and chocolates were also provided. Had we needed them, there were straps to secure Racheal‘s wheelchair, but we felt it would be more comfortable if her wheelchair was free to move around. It’s not possible for wheelchair users to move around the train due to the narrow corridors, so this was the only space Racheal could be in for the entire trip. Apparently there are plans to make more of the train accessible in the future.

Summer‘s room was very small. Again there was a bench seat which folded down to make a bed with a bunk above. A very narrow space between this and a folding table and small cupboard, and in the corner a door which led to a tiny toilet area. For two, it really would’ve been a squeeze, but Summer had this room to herself and during the day we were mostly altogether in the larger room or exploring the rest of the train.

The train left promptly at 6:30pm by which time it was dark, so after we watched the lights of Montreal through the window, we settled down to Racheal‘s usual evening routine until our meal arrived at about 8:30 pm. The portions were quite small, so we were glad of an extra meal as Racheal was also entitled to one but had had her tea before we boarded.

The beds were narrow, and I wasn’t sure how safe Racheal would be on the bottom bunk, as it had no rail. Instead we took the mattress off the top bunk and put it on the floor for her. The night was interesting! Racheal slept well in her bed on the floor, I was not quite so comfortable on the bottom bunk as it was so narrow. I was disturbed frequently during the night by screeches on the brakes, stops at stations, our door rattling and sliding partly open, the suitcase rolling around the floor. Sometimes we seemed to be going incredibly fast, other times trundling along slowly or even going backwards! None of this disturbed Racheal at all! Sunrise was beautiful, with a pink sky reflected on the water, and made up for the lack of sleep.

Each carriage has an attendant, which is an impressive ratio as we worked out the maximum number of passengers in a sleeper car is 18. Sam had introduced himself to us at the beginning of the journey and was always on hand to answer questions, fetch our meals from the dining car or help in practical ways. He would have put our beds down in the evening and folded them away in the morning, but it was easy to do so we saw to that ourselves.

During the day, Summer and Racheal spent some time catching up with the Canada log book. This involved cutting out and sticking in leaflets, pictures from magazines, tickets and other goodies collected along the way. I tried to read my book, but the scenery was so beautiful I couldn’t stop looking out of the window! Meals were brought to our room by Sam, and I was able to blend Racheal’s using our portable blender. She had bison meatloaf for lunch and haddock chowder for tea. My lobster roll followed by carrot cake was delicious. Although the portions were small, the food was very good and we had taken plenty of snacks to keep us going.

Somewhere along the way we were informed that the train was running two hours behind schedule. This was apparently due to leaves on the line which had to be cleared before we could continue, and explained the periods of time when we didn’t move or went backwards. We were actually nearly three hours late arriving in Halifax, but Racheal enjoyed watching stories on her iPad and we were able to continue with her usual evening medical routine so we wouldn’t be too behind when we got to the hotel. The platform was lower than the train, so Racheal had to use a manual lift which was brought to the door of the train. Then there was luggage to collect and a 10 minute walk to the hotel with all our luggage.

(Last two photos taken the next day when I returned to the station to get our hire car.)