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Evangeline (train)

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(Redirected from Yarmouth-Halifax train) Canadian passenger train

Evangeline
The DAR's "Evangeline" meets the ferry at Digby, Nova Scotia, Sept. 5, 1970
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusDiscontinued
LocaleNova Scotia
First serviceAugust 1956
Last serviceJanuary 14, 1990
Former operator(s)Dominion Atlantic Railway
Via Rail
Route
TerminiHalifax
Yarmouth
Stops9 scheduled, 23 flag stops (1956); 29 flag stops (1988)
Distance travelled346.2 km (215.1 mi)
Average journey time6 hours
Service frequencyDaily Except Sunday, later daily
Technical
Rolling stockBudd Rail Diesel Car, RDC-1 Model
Track owner(s)CPR
Route map
Legend
0 km Halifax (Halifax Station)
5 km
3 mi
Armdale
Bayers Road
10 km
6 mi
Rockingham
18 km
11 mi
Bedford
Sackville River
Nova Scotia Highway 102
CN branch to Dartmouth
26 km
16 mi
Windsor Junction
CN mainline to Truro
31 km
19 mi
Beaver Bank
42 km
26 mi
South Uniacke
47 km
29 mi
Mount Uniacke
Nova Scotia Highway 101
56 km
35 mi
Stillwater
63 km
39 mi
Ellershouse
68 km
42 mi
Newport
MR to Truro
76 km
47 mi
Windsor
Avon River
Nova Scotia Highway 101
87 km
54 mi
Hantsport
95 km
59 mi
Avonport
Gaspereau River
98 km
61 mi
Horton Landing
100 km
62 mi
Grand-Pré
105 km
65 mi
Wolfville
108 km
67 mi
Port Williams
116 km
72 mi
Kentville
CVR to Kingsport
Nova Scotia Highway 101
128 km
80 mi
Cambridge
130 km
81 mi
Waterville
135 km
84 mi
Berwick
143 km
89 mi
Aylesford
147 km
91 mi
Auburn
154 km
96 mi
Kingston (CFB Greenwood)
160 km
99 mi
Wilmot
166 km
103 mi
Middleton
H&SWR to Bridgewater
H&SWR to Bridgetown
175 km
109 mi
Lawrencetown
180 km
112 mi
Paradise
Nova Scotia Highway 101
Annapolis River
188 km
117 mi
Bridgetown
200 km
124 mi
Round Hill
209 km
130 mi
Annapolis Royal
Allains Creek
222 km
138 mi
Clementsport
Moose River
224 km
139 mi
CFB Cornwallis (CAF Members only)
227 km
141 mi
Deep Brook
232 km
144 mi
Bear River
Bear River
243 km
151 mi
Digby
CN Marine ferry to Saint John
Nova Scotia Highway 101
259 km
161 mi
North Range
264 km
164 mi
Plympton
277 km
172 mi
Weymouth
Sissiboo River
Nova Scotia Highway 101
291 km
181 mi
Church Point
296 km
184 mi
Saulnierville
Nova Scotia Highway 101
302 km
188 mi
Meteghan
317 km
197 mi
Hectanooga
328 km
204 mi
Brazil Lake
338 km
210 mi
Ohio
Nova Scotia Highway 101
342 km
213 mi
Hebron
348 km
216 mi
Yarmouth
CN Marine ferries to Portland, Bar Harbor
H&SWR to Bridgewater
Route map circa 1982.

The Evangeline was a passenger train operated from 1956 to 1990 by the Dominion Atlantic Railway and Via Rail Canada between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Dominion Atlantic

The Evangeline Dayliner service was inaugurated by Canadian Pacific Railway's subsidiary the Dominion Atlantic Railway in 1956 upon receipt of two Budd Rail Diesel Cars, which replaced conventional trains. Canadian Pacific choose "Evangeline" as they wanted a prestige name for the new service drawing on the lore of Acadian history made famous by the poem Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a longtime travel theme of the DAR. The Evangeline followed the route of previous DAR trains such as the Flying Bluenose. "Evangeline" was the promotional name for the route, while "Dayliner" was the name for the RDC equipment. Despite being operated by the DAR, their schedules were integrated with the entire CPR passenger system and made connections with CPR passenger/vehicle ferry service from Saint John, New Brunswick at Digby, as well as CNR passenger service at Middleton and Halifax and DAR's mixed freight/passenger service at Windsor. In the late 1960s, the "Evangeline" name became less promoted as Canadian Pacific lost interest in promoting passenger service. Users along the Annapolis Valley more commonly called the train "The Dayliner".

Via Rail

Via Rail Canada took over CPR passenger service in 1978 and fully integrated operations in 1979. Via continued to operate the RDC equipment on the Halifax-Yarmouth route and revived the name Evangeline in 1983. Ridership quickly increased and the service was successful for several years, helped by the era's record-high gasoline prices.

Improvements to parallel Highway 101 and competing bus service led to Via considering the abandonment of the Evangeline during the mid-1980s but changes in the federal government placed a moratorium on abandonment for several years. Via altered the schedule and improved connections, resulting in quadrupling of passenger counts. Train lengths expanded from 1 car to as many as 4 cars at peak service.

Drastic cuts to Via Rail's funding in the 1989 federal budget saw Minister of Transport Benoît Bouchard authorize the abandonment of 55% of Via's service, including the Evangeline, effective January 15, 1990. The Via train had been the only user of the DAR rails west of Kentville to Yarmouth and CPR promptly abandoned the trackage in March 1990.

References

  1. "Evangeline Dayliner Rail Diesel Car Service" Aug. 19, 1956, Dominion Atlantic Railway
  2. "Canada Atlantic Railway, Employee Timetable, Oct. 30, 1988", Traingeek.ca
  3. MacDonald, John, "A VIA RAIL timetable from around 1982", Old Canadian Train Stations, The Maritimes, retrieved July 3, 2017
  4. Bill Linley, Canadian Pacific in Color Volume 1: Eastern Lines, p. 14
  5. "Evangeline" Dominion Atlantic Railway Digital Preservation Initiative
  6. David Othen, Dominion Atlantic Railway The Final 25 Years, p. 27.

External links

Via Rail
Current routes
Former routes
Infrastructure
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