In the total darkness of the forest, a whitish halo stands out from the front of the locomotive. The curve is gentle, sinking Via Rail train 601 deeper and deeper into the hollows of the forests and along the edges of the rivers. A spectacle that can be guessed more than it is seen in the bends illuminated by the train’s headlights, over the 510 kilometers of railway tracks separating Montreal from Jonquière. A journey of a dozen hours, traveled at night, most of which takes place without a cellular network, in a more flexible space-time, punctuated by encounters and the vagaries of places of passage.
“Me, I go down to Chambord”, points out Réjean Otis, a cap in the colors of Ukraine screwed on his head. On this Friday in mid-July, the departure of the train from Montreal was delayed by four hours, until 7:30 p.m., due to the blockage of the track by a CN freight train that had broken down the day before. “My brother will pick me up when I arrive at 5 a.m. It doesn’t bother him, he’s so nice! »
The 69-year-old boarded the night train to see his niece, singer Jeanick Fournier — who won the TV contest Canada’s Got Talent —, to perform in Desbiens. “She’s the best singer in Quebec… apart from Ginette Reno,” says the friendly character, an old radio player from the 1990s sitting on the seat next to him.
“It’s because I got robbed at my house, and that’s what I have left [pour écouter de la musique] he says from under his raspberry-stamped face covering. “You know, my brother [qui va venir le chercher à Chambord] will soon buy a boat and we will go around the world together,” he says, half-affirmative, half-dreamy, watching the landscape pass before his eyes.
As far as Hervey-Jonction, near Saint-Tite, train 601, en route to Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, and train 603, which is heading for Senneterre, in Abitibi, travel side by side. ‘other. The two regional trains then detach to rush separately into areas cut off from any cellular connection.
Folk
And this is where the charm of regional trains operates, transporting its passengers to the borders of Quebec, on a journey punctuated by whistles, creaking rails and impromptu stops. Since, just like the train heading towards Abitibi, the one heading towards Jonquière stops where passengers want, a bit like a taxi.
“The controller gives us a certain area within which we can drive. This area belongs to us [pendant quelques heures]then we can make 0 or 500 stops”, indicates the head of services (flight attendant) nicknamed Ricky, who does not hide her love for the regional trains 601 and 603.
“It’s folkloric! And I say it with a lot of love, she mentions. Me, I marvel at every trip. I made it my mission, to put these trains back [qui sont méconnus] on the map. »
Also deprived of any network, the locomotive engineers function in the old fashioned way, by radio communications. “You never really drive more than 40 miles an hour. [dans la forêt] explain Mathieu Landry and Pascal Lespérance, at the controls of the convoy made up of a locomotive, a baggage car and a passenger car.
Gasoline prices
Even before the last ray of sunshine disappeared behind the trees, Julie Larouche and her mother, Marianne Doucet, stretched their legs and pulled out their blankets. The two women are returning to Lac-Bouchette after spending a few days on vacation in Montreal. “It’s the first time we’ve made the train trip, but we’ve wanted to experience it for a long time, they slip, accomplices. Tanking the car would have been much more expensive, and it’s so much more relaxed to be driven. »
The financial aspect also convinced Marilou J.-Marsan and Mathieu Jolicoeur to board train 601 with their daughter, Ulyssia, five years old, and their baby, Hector. “We’re going to visit friends in Shawinigan. We don’t have a car and it was really too expensive to rent one, underlines Marilou. And I like the atmosphere of the train. »
As the moon rises, Ulyssia pulls out a book to relax. “I’m supposed to fall asleep, but I’m not in complete control,” says the young girl under the amused gaze of her parents. A few rows further, Réjean Otis, he falls asleep, red-rimmed glasses placed over his eye patch. Original, all the way.
Go or not?
While no more noise is heard in the passenger car, the train stops around 1 am in the middle of the forest, in Miquick, to let six friends and their three canoes board. Objective: descend the Batiscan River.
“We can say that you have atypical schedules,” jokes Brigitte Lévesque, a headlamp on her head, to the train engineers who open the doors of the baggage car to put the canoes inside.
But now, a friend has not yet arrived. And this friend is carrying a canoe on her car. The band has not heard from her since 8:30 p.m. due to the lack of cellular service in the area. “And we can’t wait for him and just take the train tomorrow morning [le train 601 ne compte que trois départs par semaine] “, points out Brigitte.
So, are we going or not? friends argue. The gang dithers: is it really safe to put three people in a canoe? “It’s not a worse river [que vous allez descendre]it’s not a sauna,” said one of the locomotive engineers.
Time passes and the friend is still not there. “We have to go,” says the train staff. Torn apart, the five companions finally decide to stay put. Under the glow of their headlamps, one can read the disenchantment on their faces. “I’m so disappointed,” breathes Brigitte.
In the passenger car, where all eyes are still closed, no one got wind of the imbroglio, everything having happened outside.
Bicycle tourism
It is only 4 o’clock in the morning when the sky begins to take on bluish tints. When the train arrives at Chambord station, an hour later, the young Mila and Morgane have already put their bicycle helmets on their heads to get out of the train car. Their father, Benjamin Rombeault, retrieves his bicycle and that of his wife, Vassy, from the baggage car.
The couple from Europe have lived in Montreal for 12 years. “We are leaving for two weeks [en cyclotourisme] go around Lac Saint-Jean with the children, they explain. We don’t know the area yet. The little ones will be installed in carts pulled by their parents’ bicycles, which will also carry all the camping gear. “The tour of Lac Saint-Jean is a great attraction,” says Ricky. We often carry bicycles. »
Around 7 am, the train arrives at Jonquière, its destination. The last passengers get off. The night will have been short for some, soothing for others. But it will certainly not have been trivial.