MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada will retire its British-built Renaissance equipment from Quebec City-Windsor, Ontario, corridor service on Sunday, May 26, the passenger operator has confirmed.
The last train to use the Renaissance cars will be Ottawa-bound train No. 37, departing Quebec City at 12:32 p.m. When the train arrives in Montreal at 3:54 p.m., the trainset will be swapped out for Siemens Venture equipment, which will depart Montreal at 4:30 p.m. and arrive in Ottawa at 6:37 p.m.
VIA currently has received 15 of its Venture trainsets, with eight in service, all between Quebec City and Toronto. The Canadian Crown corporation ordered 32 trainsets under a C$989 million contract announced in 2018 [see “VIA Rail Canada, Siemens announce deal …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 13, 2018]. While some Venture trainsets have operated west of Toronto for testing training purposes, none have yet run in revenue service.
The Renaissance fleet of 139 cars was acquired by VIA after the cancellation of a planned overnight service between the UK and Europe via the Channel Tunnel. The equipment remains in use on the Montreal-Halifax, Nova Scotia, Ocean.
More on the Venture equipment is available at VIA’s website.
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