On 1 March , 1898 , the Intercolonial launched a faster schedule , rebranding its flagship trains as the '' Maritime Express '' . The eastbound train left Montreal at 7:30 p.m. , arriving in Halifax the next day at 9:40 p.m. ; westbound , the train departed Halifax at 1:30 p.m. and pulled into Bonaventure station the following day at 5:35 p.m . The trains featured first-class dining cars and sleepers built by the Wagner Palace Car Company . The sleepers featured 10 open sections and two drawing rooms , “ finished in polished mahogany beautifully inlaid with lighter woods with ceilings of green and gold , in the Empire style , and the upholstering … of a rich green plush . ” In 1900 , the ICR revised the schedule of the eastbound '' Maritime Express '' to depart Montreal at 11:30 a.m. , arriving in Halifax a day later at 3:30 p.m . This allowed for an early evening arrival at Point-Levi , providing a more convenient ferry connection for passengers crossing the St. Lawrence River to Quebec City . On the whole , the train proved to be popular with travellers , with a 45 % increase in sleeping car revenues and a 260 % jump in dining car revenues in its first year of operation . Between 1900 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914 , ICR invested heavily in improvements to its rolling stock , motive power and infrastructure . It ordered new passenger cars , installed upgraded tracks and bridges to carry heavier trains , and constructed impressive new stations in communities along the line . In 1912 the railway undertook a massive project to construct a new terminus in the south end of Halifax , connecting it to the main line by blasting through miles of solid bedrock . The project would prove to be prescient when North Street Station and much of the railway ’s waterfront infrastructure was wrecked by the Halifax Explosion in 1917 . The '' Maritime Express '' moved to a new “ temporary ” south end station on 22 December , 1918 and to the new Halifax Station in 1928
Halifax Explosion
Halifax Explosion
Maritime Express