# 45-minute connection between VIA Rail Ocean & Adirondack- doable?



## Joseph Schneider (Apr 12, 2017)

Hello. I'm planning a train trip from Halifax to New York in mid-May, and I see that the Montreal-bound Ocean arrives in St-Lambert at 9:50 AM, and the southbound Adirondack departs at 10:35 AM. I know it's not a big station (really just two concrete platforms- should take a minute or two at worst to cross between them), but the real question is if the Ocean is reliable enough that I won't miss the southbound Adirondack?


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## the_traveler (Apr 12, 2017)

I am not familiar with VIA's OTP, but I would not trust a connection from a long distance train that short!


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## Joseph Schneiderr (Apr 12, 2017)

the_traveler said:


> I am not familiar with VIA's OTP, but I would not trust a connection from a long distance train that short!


http://www.viarail.ca/en/travel-infos/informations/on-time-performance

The VIARail website seems to say that OTP is roughly 80%. However, I am not certain as to what VIA's metrics are in relation to what classifies as "on-time".


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## Anderson (Apr 13, 2017)

A friend of mine made this connection a few years ago. IMHO it's tighter than I'd really be comfortable with; I think the question is whether you're comfortable taking, say, a 10-25% chance (I suspect the OTP is worse in winter, but that's a guess and not gospel) of having a day added to your trip (or having to buy a last-minute ticket out of YUL).

Edit: VIA defines "on-time" as within 60 minutes for the Ocean. Note, however, that for February on that standard the WB Ocean had a 100% OTP rate (though that could obviously still include trains which were, say, 50 minutes late and would make you miss your connection).


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## NS VIA Fan (Apr 13, 2017)

The Ocean has a pretty good OTP….but the old adage: The train could be on time every day for a month but the one day you ride anything could happen! Throughout the trip you will constantly checking the time and schedule. It will ruin your trip.

Don’t risk it. Spend the day in Montreal. There’s lots to do. For example....I arrived in Montreal a couple of weeks ago on the Ocean at 10am and had plenty of time to take two round trips on AMT commuter trains: To Mascouche on the line through the Mount Royal Tunnel using the ALP45 duel Electric – Diesel locomotives....then a 130km round trip out to St. Jerome and back.


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## Triley (Apr 20, 2017)

On the flip side, I was waiting to point out the Adirondack when pulling in on The Ocean, to my husband last Wednesday. Didn't happen. We arrived I think two minutes before its departure.


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## NS VIA Fan (Apr 21, 2017)

A couple of weeks ago I was in the Park Car on the eastbound Ocean and we met the northbound Adirondack on the Victoria Bridge. That night a connection to the Ocean would have been possible at St. Lambert if you were heading to Halifax....but I certainly wouldnt have risked it!!

When the Pre-Clearance facility opens in Central Station, the Adirondack will no longer stop in St. Lambert in either direction.


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