List of Canadian railways explained

Freight railways by province

National

NameReporting marks[1] LocaleOwnershipNotes
CN British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Publicly traded corporation
CPKC British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec Publicly traded corporation

Multiple provinces

NameReporting marks[2] LocaleOwnershipNotes
N/A Bloom Lake Mine to WLR junction Operates in Quebec and Labrador; privately owned, not a common carrier; operated under contract by Genesee & Wyoming
BNSF Vancouver to US border (Washington State), Saskatchewan border Berkshire Hathaway Major US railway with small section of directly owned operations in British Columbia and Saskatchewan
CSXT Sarnia, ON to Sombra, ONMajor US railway with small section of direct operations in Ontario
Knob Lake and Timmins RailwayKLTSchefferville to Iron Mines on the Québec/Labrador borderGenesee & WyomingOperates in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nipissing Central RailwayNCRSwastika, ON toRouyn-Noranda, QCOntario Northland Railway
ONT North Bay to Hearst, Moosonee, or Rouyn-Noranda Operates in Ontario and Quebec. Also carries passengers
OVR Operates in Ontario and Quebec
QNSL Sept-Îles to Wabush Operates in Quebec and Labrador; private service, not a common carrier
TSH Schefferville to QNSF junction First nations owned Operates in Newfoundland and Labrador. Also carries passengers.

Alberta

NameReporting marksLocaleOwnershipNotes
Alberta Prairie Steam Tours Ltd.[3] APXX Big Valley and Botha to Canadian Pacific West Stettler Junction The oldest of all the privately owned shortlines in Alberta. Former Canadian Pacific Lacombe Subdivision and former Canadian National Stettler Subdivisions. Primary markets are grains, fertilizer, rail car storage and passenger train day trips.
Battle River Railway[4] BRR Alliance to Canadian National Camrose Junction
Forty Mile Rail[5] FMRX Stirling to Foremost Former Canadian Pacific Stirling Subdivision. The Primary market for Forty Mile Rail's services is expected to be grain and pulse production. Future potential may include oil movement and other non-grain products.
RLGN Alberta to Northwest Territories Canadian National Railway (2006)

British Columbia

NameReporting marks[6] LocaleOwnershipNotes
BCOL Surrey to Roberts Bank Superport Terminal railway that is the last publicly managed portion of a formerly large scale system; the BC government still technically owns the North Vancouver to Prince George line, although it is leased to and managed by CN
ER-WFP Woss to Beaver Cove Western Forest ProductsPrivately owned; not a common carrier
Grand Forks Railway Inc. GFR Grand Forks to Grand Forks Jct. International Forest Products Ltd. d.b.a. "Interfor" and Regional District of Kootenay Boundary
KPR Kelowna/Lumby to Kamloops KnightHawk Rail Ltd. Fallen Flag. Went into receivership in 2013. Ownership of infrastructure reverted to CNR. As of Nov 2015 the Coldstream to Kelowna portion was abandoned and torn up.
KFR Laurier, WA to Grand Forks & Carson and Waneta to Columbia Gardens Majority of the line's trackage is contained in the US
NFTS Columbia Gardens to Park Siding Atco Wood Products
SRY Vancouver to Chilliwack
SVI Victoria to CourtenayURS Corporation

Manitoba

NameReporting marks[7] LocaleOwnershipNotes
BNML Winnipeg to BNSF lines at US border (North Dakota) Subsidiary of BNSF Railway
BTRC Morden to Binney Siding Privately owned Owns abandoned line west to Killarney.
CEMR Winnipeg to Graysville and Pine Falls
GWWD Winnipeg to Shoal Lake, Ontario Not a common carrier. Governmental railway used to service city aqueduct.
HBRY The Pas to Churchill

The Pas to Flin Flon

Arctic Gateway Group
KRC The Pas to Lynn Lake Tribally owned Also carries passengers.
Lake Line RailroadLLRRSelkirk to Gimli

Beausejour to CP Keewatin Subdivision

New Brunswick

NameReporting marks[8] LocaleOwnershipNotes
MNRY St Léonard to the Maine Border
NBSR Saint John to St. Stephen
ST St. Stephen to US border (Maine) Pan Am Railways

Nova Scotia

NameReporting marks[10] LocaleOwnershipNotes
CBNS Truro to Sydney Genesee & Wyominginactive since 2015
SCR Sydney to Lingan Power Plant Logistec Inc.

Ontario

NameReporting marks[11] LocaleOwnershipNotes
AC Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst Also carries passengers
Arnprior-Nepean RailwayANRArnprior to Nepean
ETL Amherstburg to Windsor, Ontario Essex Morterm Holdings
Barrie-Collingwood RailwayBCRYBarrie AreaCorporation of the City of BarrieShortline that runs through Barrie and Innisfil on former CN Meaford Sub and Breton Spur
GEXR Brampton to Goderich via London and Stratford Genesee & Wyoming
GJR Guelph to Campbellsville Municipally owned, but operated by Ontario Southland Railway
HCRY Sudbury to Sault Ste. MarieGenesee & Wyoming
MDW US border (Minnesota) to Fort Frances US short line railway that owns trackage to serve one major Canadian customer
OSRX Woodstock to Tillsonburg or St. ThomasIndependently owned
OBRY Orangeville to Streetsville Owned by Orangeville-Brampton Development Corporation, a nonprofit entity; operated by Cando Ltd.
PCHR St. Catharines to Port Colborne Trillium Railways
RLHH Brantford to Nanticoke via HamiltonGenesee & Wyoming
VAEX Sudbury to nickel minesPrivately owned; not a common carrier

Quebec

NameReporting marks[12] LocaleOwnershipNotes
CFA Sept-Îles to port facilities Privately owned, not a common carrier
CartierPort-Cartier to Mont Wright mine Privately owned, not a common carrier
CFC Quebec City to Clermont Groupe Le Massif Inc. Also carries passengers
CFL Joliette to Saint-Felix Independently owned
CFO Gatineau to Wakfield Municipally owned
Gaspésie Railway SocietySFGMatapédia to GaspéAvignon Regional County Municipality

Bonaventure Regional County Municipality

Le Rocher-Percé Regional County Municipality

La Côte-de-Gaspé Regional County Municipality

QGRY Quebec City to Gatineau via MontrealGenesee & Wyoming
CFRR Havre-Saint-Pierre to iron mine QIT-Fer et TitanePrivately owned, not a common carrier
RS Jonquière to La Baie
POM Port of Montreal to CN/CP junctions
Sartigan Railway[13] CFSVallée-Jonction to CN Montmagny SubdivisionIndependently owned
SLQ Montreal to US border (Vermont) via Sherbrooke Majority of the line's trackage is in the US

Saskatchewan

NameReporting marks[14] LocaleOwnershipNotes
BGSDelisle to Beechy, Macrorie to Laporte, and Wartime to Kyle subsidiary of Mobil Grain Ltd.
CTRW Warman to Birch Hills or White Star or to Pulp Mill (Prince Albert) OmniTRAX
FLR Hart Butte to GWR junction Municipally owned; operated by Great Western Railway
GSR Swift Current to Burstall Independently owned
GWRS Assinboia or Bracken to CPR junction Independently owned local cooperative; managed by WestCan Rail [15]
LMR Regina to Davidson partnership of Mobil Grain Ltd. and municipal governments
LCRI Estevan to Tribune Independently owned
Northern Lights RailNLRMelfort to Birch Hills
Poplar River Mine RailwayPRMXGreat Western Railway in Coronach to Poplar River Mine and Poplar River Power StationWestmoreland Mining
RCRR Pangman to GWR junction Municipally owned, but operated by GWR
SORA Moose Jaw to Parry Farmer-owned cooperative
SSS Stoughton to Richardson Independently owned
TR Arborfield to CN junction Municipally owned
TRRR Choiceland to Nipawin Municipally owned
WRI St. Louis to Tozke Municipally owned, but operated by Canadian National Railway

Freight railways with trackage rights only

NameReporting marks[16] LocaleOwnershipNotes
MEC US border (Maine) to Saint John, NB US railway with trackage rights over New Brunswick Southern line
NS US border (Michigan) to Windsor, ON; or US border (New York) to Niagara Falls, ONPublicly traded corporation Major US railway with brief trackage rights over Canadian Pacific (Windsor) and Canadian National (Fort Erie to Niagara Falls) lines
NECR US border (Vermont) to Quebec City via MontrealUS railway with trackage rights over Canadian National line
UP US border (Washington) to Vancouver Publicly traded corporation Major US railway with trackage rights over BNSF line

Passenger railways

NameReporting marks[17] LocaleOwnershipNotes
Capital RailwayCROttawaCity of OttawaThe Trillium Line is a federally regulated rail line operated under the name "Capital Railway"
EXOGreater Montreal Exo, a provincial entity 3 commuter routes with trackage rights over CP lines, 2 commuter routes with trackage rights over CN lines, 1 owned
GOT Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area Metrolinx, a provincial entity 3 commuter routes with trackage rights over CN lines, 1 commuter route with trackage rights over CP lines, 2 owned and operated commuter lines
ONT Cochrane ON to Moosonee ON Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a provincial crown agency 1 active route on owned tracks
RMRXVancouver or Calgary to Banff, Jasper, and Whistler Armstrong Group 3 tour routes operating over CN tracks, 1 tour route operating over CP tracks
VIABritish Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Federally owned Operates 9 routes (the most major of which has 7 variations), mainly along CP and CN tracks
BCVXMission to Vancouver TransLink, a provincial entity 1 commuter route with trackage rights over CP line

Urban rail transit

NameLocaleOwnershipNotes
Calgary Calgary Transit2 light rail lines
Edmonton Edmonton Transit Service3 light rail lines
Waterloo Region Grand River Transit1 light rail line
Montreal, Laval, and Longueuil 4 heavy rail metro lines (running on tires)
Ottawa 2 light rail lines
Toronto and Vaughan 3 heavy rail metro lines
Toronto 11 streetcar lines
Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Richmond TransLink3 light metro lines

Heritage railways

See main article: List of heritage railways in Canada.

Defunct railways

See main article: List of defunct Canadian railways.

See main article: List of historic BC Narrow Gauge railways.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. [Railinc]
  2. [Railinc]
  3. http://www.absteamtrain.com/ Alberta Prairie Railway
  4. http://www.battleriverrailway.ca/ Battle River Railway
  5. http://www.40mr.ca/ Forty Mile Railway
  6. [Railinc]
  7. [Railinc]
  8. [Railinc]
  9. [Railinc]
  10. [Railinc]
  11. [Railinc]
  12. [Railinc]
  13. Web site: C.F Sartigan. www.beaucerail.ca. 2019-10-25.
  14. [Railinc]
  15. Web site: Great Western Railway Official Website . 2011-12-24.
  16. [Railinc]
  17. [Railinc]