VIA Rail

[Urban Sky]

How come no one raises Montreal as an example? I don't recall there ever being any indication on the Metro map in the trains, on which station you get out of for VIA. I'm not even sure you'd get everyone to 100% agree on which is the best station to get out at (probably depends what station you entered the Metro at).

I first stepped foot into Montreal only on January 1, 2011 (as part of my first-ever VIA trip - from Ottawa via Montreal to Quebec City), but all Metro Maps I recall indicated the Commuter Rail network quite prominently. Having checked the STM website, it seems like they now finally also refer to the intercity rail services available at Gare Centrale, though of course unilingually in French:

http://www.stm.info/sites/all/modules/features/stm_metro/theme/images/map-interactive.png

As you can see in the map, Bonaventure is the station closest to Gare Centrale. Nevertheless, if you are already on the green line and don’t travel with much luggage, McGill might be a better choice (both metro stations are connected with Gare Centrale and each other as part of Montreal’s Underground City):

https://montrealsouterrain.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Carte%20Montreal%20Souterrain%20-%20Underground%20City%20Map%20-%20Inside.png

 

[reaperexpress]

[...] it seems like they now finally also refer to the intercity rail services available at Gare Centrale, though of course unilingually in French:

Well to be fair, I think even the most unilingual of English speakers could guess that "Gare Centrale - trains interurbains" means "Gare Centrale - interurban trains".

I don't think station names necessarily need to be translated, in fact doing so can sometimes cause confusion like in the aforementioned fiasco in "Brussel Zuid / Bruxelles Midi". With German main stations, I think the name "Hauptbahnhof" is quite universally known, even if in practice English-speaking people may say "central station" because it's easier for them to pronounce.

 

[Urban Sky]

Well to be fair, I think most english speakers could guess that "trains interurbains" means "interurban trains".

Which, however, is a clumsy way to refer to intercity trains:

The interurban (or radial railway) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like light electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns.

Interurban - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[reaperexpress]

Which, however, is a clumsy way to refer to intercity trains:

Interurban - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

True but in any case the intent is clear to the average traveller. I think only us raifans are familiar with the term "interurban" in the context of long-distance streetcars.

 

[MisterF]

I first stepped foot into Montreal only on January 1, 2011 (as part of my first-ever VIA trip - from Ottawa via Montreal to Quebec City), but all Metro Maps I recall indicated the Commuter Rail network quite prominently.

This is something that the Toronto subway map sorely lacks. And its absence gets more glaring every year as the commuter network expands.

 

[micheal_can]

This is something that the Toronto subway map sorely lacks. And its absence gets more glaring every year as the commuter network expands.

It amazes me how the TTC really doesn't help with people to get around faster. The fact that GO and Via services are labeled so small on the TTC maps really makes it hard to get around efficiently if you don't know the system.

https://ttc.ca/PDF/Maps/TTC_SubwayStreetcarMap.pdf

https://ttc.ca/PDF/Maps/TTC_SystemMap.pdf

 

[nfitz]

Well to be fair, I think even the most unilingual of English speakers could guess that "Gare Centrale - trains interurbains" means "Gare Centrale - interurban trains".

When I lived there, some VIA and Amtrack services departed Windsor station - which ironically was better connected to Metro Bonaventure.

There was certainly commuter trains eventually shown on the maps in the Metro cars - but only after STM (or it's predecessor) briefly took over the commuter trains.

But even relatively recently (I'm not quite sure what is shown now), there was nothing on the map to indicate where inter-city trains were to be caught from. This map isn't even that old, showing elevators at Berri and Lionel-Groulx.

 

[nfitz]

I first stepped foot into Montreal only on January 1, 2011 (as part of my first-ever VIA trip - from Ottawa via Montreal to Quebec City), but all Metro Maps I recall indicated the Commuter Rail network quite prominently.

Though it only started when they had a single agency running the Metro and the two surviving commuter lines. I'm sure if Ford had kept his promise about Metrolinx taking over TTC subways, then TTC subways would have shown GO lines.

As you can see in the map, Bonaventure is the station closest to Gare Centrale. Nevertheless, if you are already on the green line and don’t travel with much luggage, McGill might be a better choice (both metro stations are connected with Gare Centrale and each other as part of Montreal’s Underground City):

Pretty much. But ... what if you come to the train on the Orange line from the East - particularly if you want to travel from one of the most eastern VIA platforms at Central Station. It would be interesting to have an old-fashioned foot race from Berri with 3 teams. One goes to McGill, one goes to Square Victoria, and one goes to Bonaventure. I wouldn't be surprised if the team to Square Victoria would beat the one that goes to Bonaventure, with the extra Metro stop, even with the improved connection that by-passes Place Bonaventure. Before that opened, I'd put my money on Square Victoria (though I'd normally travel to Bonaventure and jaywalk across De La Gauchetierre rather than taking the tunnel).

Having checked the STM website, it seems like they now finally also refer to the intercity rail services available at Gare Centrale

Similarly there's lot of GO connection information on TTC website pages and maps (and all the maps in the streetcar and bus shelters).

Credit to STM for the maps at the Metro entrances though ... they are far superior and consistent to anything TTC has had - one recent iteration neglected to include TTC bus and streetcar routes/stops on it - which was a big reason I used to stop and check the maps at Metro entrances when travelling somewhere different.

But I thought we were talking about the maps on the trains. Looks to me, that they still don't show Central Station or inter-city trains either by name or symbol - though it's hard to find a good image. I suppose you can guess that many of the downtown commuter trains end at Bonaventure. Though some end at Lucien L'Allier.

 

[SFO-YYZ]

When I lived there, some VIA and Amtrack services departed Windsor station - which ironically was better connected to Metro Bonaventure.

There was certainly commuter trains eventually shown on the maps in the Metro cars - but only after STM (or it's predecessor) briefly took over the commuter trains.

But even relatively recently (I'm not quite sure what is shown now), there was nothing on the map to indicate where inter-city trains were to be caught from. This map isn't even that old, showing elevators at Berri and Lionel-Groulx.

View attachment 277315

That map is at least 4-5 years old, if not older.

This is the 2020 STM Metro map (in English):

Maps

2021 System map

www.stm.info

 

[sacred]

This map is at least 4-5 years old.

This is the 2020 STM Metro map (in English):

View attachment 277319

Maps

2021 System map

www.stm.info

Great, great map. Wow. I hadn't even noticed how good it is.
Gonna be honest, I hope the REM has a different map colour than the current green they're going for. Probably not going to happen because of the colour of the REM trains, but... it just doesn't please me the way the orange-green-blue-yellow does.

 

[nfitz]

That map is at least 4-5 years old, if not older.

This is the 2020 STM Metro map (in English):

That seems to be from the website, not the train. The one I put above is a photo from inside a new Azur train, and you can see that the symbol for Central Station is not there, nor is there an entry in the legend.

 

[begratto]

That seems to be from the website, not the train. The one I put above is a photo from inside a new Azur train, and you can see that the symbol for Central Station is not there, nor is there an entry in the legend.

The "Correspondance" (transfer) section that appears before each station does say "Gare de train" or something similar. We don't see it well because of the light reflection.

 

[Urban Sky]

When I lived there, some VIA and Amtrack services departed Windsor station - which ironically was better connected to Metro Bonaventure.

Given that VIA and Amtrak terminated services into Gare Windsor in 1984 and 1986, respectively, it seems like @crs1026 is not the only one who started riding trains "just after the dinosaurs died out"...

That seems to be from the website, not the train. The one I put above is a photo from inside a new Azur train, and you can see that the symbol for Central Station is not there, nor is there an entry in the legend.

I've been using the Metro daily for almost 7 years (until Corona hit) and the map I discovered yesterday on the STM website was the first one I saw acknowledging the existence of intercity passenger trains in Montreal...

The "Correspondance" (transfer) section that appears before each station does say "Gare de train" or something similar. We don't see it well because of the light reflection.View attachment 277400

Great to have this information displayed when you are about to pass the station where you should leave to head for Gare Centrale, but imagine if that information was already made available before you board the Metro train...

 

[crs1026]

Given that VIA and Amtrak terminated services into Gare Windsor in 1984 and 1986, respectively, it seems like @crs1026 is not the only one who started riding trains "just after the dinosaurs died out"...

LOL.... I’m forced to admit that when visiting family in Ottawa some still refer to the VIA station as “The New Train Station”.

In this day and age I would be a lot more concerned about how on-line maps portray the train station than the transit maps alone. You can be sure that travellers, tourist or otherwise, are getting their directions from their phones. I don’t know how the algorithm for map apps work, but one would want the train station (and all public transit, frankly) to appear in a zoomed-out map as one of the highest level details. That doesn’t seem to be so. YUL stays on the map as one zooms out, but Gare Centrale doesn’t. I wonder how much Google would charge for that.

One would want the on-site maps to closely mirror the phone map, so that when the user reaches the Metro, they do not need to reorient or decypher the new map. “You Are Here” should have a Digital Recognition link so your phone can directly update to the location.

I’m curious about the statement that this is the latest Montreal Metro map..... changes to the commuter rail lines don’t seem to have made it to the map? One senses that not many commuters transfer to the Metro, or do so only having reached Gare Centrale.

- Paul

 

[MisterF]

LOL.... I’m forced to admit that when visiting family in Ottawa some still refer to the VIA station as “The New Train Station”.

Toronto's city hall is from the same era and I still hear people refer to it as "New City Hall".