“A supercharged ambience, with exceptionally unpretentious, friendly people″
That’s the spirit of the Show-z-après-skis according to Misstress Barbara, who again for a second consecutive year walks the boards of Le Massif’s stage with her Girls on a Ducati. “It’s an unforgettable experience that I can’t wait to repeat”, revealed the internationally renowned Montreal DJ.

Having no pretensions about being a proper concert venue, Le Massif de Charlevoix remains faithful to its reputation by enhancing its already very diversified sports, gastronomical and cultural event calendar with electronic, techno, house, hip hop, rock, pop, alternative and reggae performances.

2010-11 Show & Event Calendar

A Reputation that’s Made
Over the years, Le Massif de Charlevoix’s stage has welcomed celebrated artists
like Champion and his G-Strings, Alfa Rococo, Martin Deschamps, Mes Aïeux,
The Pascale Picard Band, Zébulon, Mètatuk, Marco Calliari, Yann Perreau,
Steve Hill, Ricky Paquette, Dobacaracol and Kaliroots. Also on this prestigious
list are The Porn Flakes who, like Sébastien Plante, Lulu Hughes,
Gabrielle Destroismaisons, Marie Mai, Annie Dufresne and Hugo Lapointe,
literally brought down the house for exhilarated riders.

A spirit of innovation, creativity and expertise in areas of ergonomics and transportation are just several of the criteria to have convinced Groupe Le Massif and its subsidiary Train touristique de Charlevoix to decide on these firms from Montreal and Chicoutimi. “Beyond comfort and aesthetics, we wish to bring something new to the rail experience while respecting industry standards,” explained Nancy Belley, general manager of Train touristique de Charlevoix. “Both firms retained fully understand our vision, and are determined to go beyond what has already been developed and in doing so, redefine future rail transport standards,” she specified.

Unique Staging
Advocating material re-use, the eight-car convoy to be restored and transformed into observation cars will expose travellers to the beauty of the scenery, while making passengers aware of the environment and its riches, and conservation issues. “Railcar shell design will feature the maximum amount of windows structurally permissible in keeping with safety and regulatory norms,” stated Belley.

“Among the challenges to optimize passenger experience are the treatment of structural elements like walls and ceilings, and the integration of state of the art technologies,” mentioned Benoît Milord, vice-president of development at Groupe Le Massif. He also added that interior configurations will be designed to maximize passenger comfort, yet remain functional for on-car personnel.

Complete Metamorphosis from Convoy to Tracks
Built in the 60s, Groupe Le Massif’s Pullman Standard cars were until recently in service in the suburbs of Chicago. Their complete upgrade is expected to require one year. To date, 3D models have been created and once re-outfitted, the cars will convey up to 550 passengers, with six cars each accommodating 72 passengers. Two other railcars with lesser capacity will be reserved for passengers with reduced mobility.

In parallel, work commenced last fall on the 140 km of track stretching between Québec City and Clermont resumed early May. Train touristique de Charlevoix wishes to optimize line safety, comfort, carrying capacity and speed. Daily departures will be offered by Summer 2011, as well as a rail shuttle linking Le Massif’s two environments – La Ferme in Baie-Saint-Paul, and the base of the mountain in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François.