New connections in Reservia

[Tom Box [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

I just noticed yesterday that Reservia is now showing the 61-51
connection in Kingston for travel from Montreal or Dorval to
Cobourg or Guildwood. [...]
#61 runs Monday to Saturday, but #51 only runs Monday to Friday.
On Saturdays, VIA ought to be offering a 61-643 connection in
Kingston. That would be useful for travel from Montreal, Dorval
or Cornwall to Napanee, Belleville, Cobourg, Port Hope or
Guildwood. The connecting time in Kingston is 1 h 38 min, longer
than the 61-51 connection time of 1 h 7 min, so it certainly
looks feasible. Currently, Reservia shows #63 as the earliest
option for travel from Montreal to Belleville or Cobourg, and
says you can't get to Napanee or Port Hope at all. I've written
to VIA to suggest the 61-643 connection.

Today I got a nice message from Cindy Laplante of VIA thanking me
for the suggestion. The 61-643 connection has now been added to
the reservations system.

You still can't get from Port Hope (or Trenton, Napanee or
Gananoque) to Montreal (or Cornwall or Dorval). If all went well,
you could take #650 to Kingston and #668 to Montreal on Friday
only, but it's a 6-minute connection in Kingston, so I can't
blame VIA for not offering it.

Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada


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Posted by: Tom Box <tbox-***@public.gmane.org>
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[[e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

The only way that connection could fail is if 668 overtakes 650, which I find hard to imagine; does it happen?

But there's still the morning train from Port Hope to Montreal: 651 to Oshawa or Toronto, 62 to Montreal. Or on Saturdays, 655 to Oshawa, 62 to Montreal, a better connection. Return the next day by 65 to Guildwood or Toronto, onward by 650. Airlines think nothing of such connections, and with airline-style management, why hasn't Via thought of them? European rail trip planners would show them, even with "overnight conections."

[Tom Box [e-mail] [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]]

Re: New connections in Reservia

Post by dayphope-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]

Post by Tom Box tbox-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
You still can't get from Port Hope (or Trenton, Napanee or
Gananoque) to Montreal (or Cornwall or Dorval). If all went
well, you could take #650 to Kingston and #668 to Montreal
on Friday only, but it's a 6-minute connection in Kingston,
so I can't blame VIA for not offering it.

The only way that connection could fail is if 668 overtakes
650, which I find hard to imagine; does it happen?

I don't know if it's happened since the current schedule came
into effect, but I've seen something similar occur with
predecessor trains.

It used to be (late 1990s) that #48 left Toronto for Ottawa at
17:30, making all intermediate stops, and #68 left Toronto for
Montreal at 18:00, stopping only in Guildwood, Cobourg and
Belleville, before making all stops from Kingston to Montreal.
(#68 added more stops in later years.) I recall on one
occasion seeing #68 pass through Port Hope before a late-
running #48 got here.

On another occasion, both trains were held in Toronto for
some reason (probably a trespasser killed on the tracks east
of Union Station) and when service resumed, #68 left ahead
of #48 (to the annoyance of the passengers on #48, including
me, who could see #68 leaving on an adjacent track).

In today's schedule, #650 leaves Toronto at 17:40, makes all
stops, and gets to Kingston at 20:08, where it terminates.
#668 leaves Toronto at 18:00 and stops only in Oshawa before
getting to Kingston at 20:10, then leaves there four minutes
later. I don't know how that works in practice in Kingston
(paging Mr. Gagnon...). Are both trains often at the station
simultaneously? Do they take up both tracks?

If #650 experienced any delays, I can easily imagine #668
overtaking it and getting to Kingston ahead of it.

Post by dayphope-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
But there's still the morning train from Port Hope to
Montreal: 651 to Oshawa or Toronto, 62 to Montreal. Or
on Saturdays, 655 to Oshawa, 62 to Montreal, a better
connection.

True. You can book 651-62 using the multi-city option on
Reservia, but not 655-62, since that option enforces a two-
hour connect time.

Post by dayphope-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
Return the next day by 65 to Guildwood or Toronto, onward
by 650.

Reservia will let you do 65-48, but not 65-650.

Post by dayphope-***@public.gmane.org [Canadian-Passenger-Rail]
Airlines think nothing of such connections, and with
airline-style management, why hasn't Via thought of them?

I doubt there's a market for them. While it pains a true
Port Hoper to admit it, going to Cobourg to catch a train
to Montreal is cheaper and faster.

You have to pay extra to go from Port Hope to Montreal
via Oshawa or Toronto. The fare is the sum of the fares
for each leg. That's not the case for the 61-643 connection
that I mentioned yesterday. For that one, you just pay a
Montreal - Port Hope fare, which is less than the sum of
the Montreal - Kingston and Kingston - Port Hope fares.

Tom Box
tbox at ncf dot ca
Port Hope, ON, Canada


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Posted by: Tom Box <tbox-***@public.gmane.org>
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For help, send an email to Canadian-Passenger-Rail-help-***@public.gmane.org