List of Canadian railways explained

Freight railways by province

National

Name	Reporting marks^[1]	Locale	Ownership	Notes
	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

Name	Reporting marks^[2]	Locale	Ownership	Notes
	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, ON		Major US railway with small section of direct operations in Ontario
Knob Lake and Timmins Railway	KLT	Schefferville to Iron Mines on the Québec/Labrador border	Genesee & Wyoming	Operates in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Nipissing Central Railway	NCR	Swastika, ON toRouyn-Noranda, QC	Ontario 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

Name	Reporting marks	Locale	Ownership	Notes
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

Name	Reporting marks^[6]	Locale	Ownership	Notes
	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 Products	Privately 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 Courtenay	URS Corporation

Manitoba

Name	Reporting marks^[7]	Locale	Ownership	Notes
	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 Railroad	LLRR	Selkirk to Gimli Beausejour to CP Keewatin Subdivision

New Brunswick

Name	Reporting marks^[8]	Locale	Ownership	Notes
	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

Name	Reporting marks^[10]	Locale	Ownership	Notes
	CBNS	Truro to Sydney	Genesee & Wyoming	inactive since 2015
	SCR	Sydney to Lingan Power Plant	Logistec Inc.

Ontario

Name	Reporting marks^[11]	Locale	Ownership	Notes
	AC	Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst		Also carries passengers
Arnprior-Nepean Railway	ANR	Arnprior to Nepean
	ETL	Amherstburg to Windsor, Ontario	Essex Morterm Holdings
Barrie-Collingwood Railway	BCRY	Barrie Area	Corporation of the City of Barrie	Shortline 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. Marie	Genesee & 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. Thomas	Independently 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 Hamilton	Genesee & Wyoming
	VAEX	Sudbury to nickel mines		Privately owned; not a common carrier

Quebec

Name	Reporting marks^[12]	Locale	Ownership	Notes
	CFA	Sept-Îles to port facilities		Privately owned, not a common carrier
	Cartier	Port-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 Society	SFG	Matapédia to Gaspé	Avignon 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 Montreal	Genesee & Wyoming
	CFRR	Havre-Saint-Pierre to iron mine	QIT-Fer et Titane	Privately owned, not a common carrier
	RS	Jonquière to La Baie
	POM	Port of Montreal to CN/CP junctions
Sartigan Railway^[13]	CFS	Vallée-Jonction to CN Montmagny Subdivision	Independently owned
	SLQ	Montreal to US border (Vermont) via Sherbrooke		Majority of the line's trackage is in the US

Saskatchewan

Name	Reporting marks^[14]	Locale	Ownership	Notes
	BGS	Delisle 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 Rail	NLR	Melfort to Birch Hills
Poplar River Mine Railway	PRMX	Great Western Railway in Coronach to Poplar River Mine and Poplar River Power Station	Westmoreland 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

Name	Reporting marks^[16]	Locale	Ownership	Notes
	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, ON	Publicly 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 Montreal		US 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

Name	Reporting marks^[17]	Locale	Ownership	Notes
Capital Railway	CR	Ottawa	City of Ottawa	The Trillium Line is a federally regulated rail line operated under the name "Capital Railway"
	EXO	Greater 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
	RMRX	Vancouver or Calgary to Banff, Jasper, and Whistler	Armstrong Group	3 tour routes operating over CN tracks, 1 tour route operating over CP tracks
	VIA	British 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
	BCVX	Mission to Vancouver	TransLink, a provincial entity	1 commuter route with trackage rights over CP line

Urban rail transit

Name	Locale	Ownership	Notes
	Calgary	Calgary Transit	2 light rail lines
	Edmonton	Edmonton Transit Service	3 light rail lines
	Waterloo Region	Grand River Transit	1 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	TransLink	3 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

• List of heritage railways in Canada
• List of Ontario railways
• Oldest railroads in North America
• Rail transport in Canada

External links

• Association of American Railroads
• American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association
• Old Time Trains Histories of Canadian Railways, past and present
• CTA List of companies holding a Certificate of Fitness which is the legal authority to operate a Federal railway
• Railway Atlas of Canada PDF route maps of operating railways, by provinces and cities.
• Web site: Map of railways in Northern and Eastern Quebec . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20120717042517/http://www.proximityissues.ca/Maps/RAC-2004-QC_sub.pdf . 2012-07-17 .  
• Web site: List of Quebec Railways . 2007-06-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061206145100/http://www.mtq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/publications/modes/ferroviaire/reseau_ferroviaire.pdf . 2006-12-06 . dead .

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]