Mackenzie Northern Railway
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| Mackenzie Northern Railway | |
|---|---|
| Reporting marks | RLGN |
| Locale | Alberta, Northwest Territories |
| Dates of operation | 1964 – present |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Headquarters | Peace River, Alberta |
The Mackenzie Northern Railway (AAR reporting marks RLGN) is a 602 mile Canadian railway operating in Alberta and the Northwest Territories. It is the northernmost trackage of the contiguous North American railway network.
[edit] History
The majority of the tracks which the Mackenzie Northern Railway uses were built by the federal government as the Great Slave Railway, running from a point on the Northern Alberta Railways at Grimshaw, AB to the southern shores of Great Slave Lake at Hay River, NWT starting in 1961 and opening in 1964. The line was built to serve as a means to forward supplies to the new port facilities at Hay River, from which cargo and passengers could be transported by barge across Great Slave Lake and down the Mackenzie River and along the shores of the Beaufort Sea.
The Great Slave Railway's operation was entrusted to CN in 1966, which had been operating the line on behalf of the federal government since it opened. The line also continued east from Hay River, NWT, along the south shore of Great Slave Lake, to a mine at Pine Point. This section was abandoned in 1992 once concentrate shipments from the closed mine ceased. Total mileage in the Northwest Territories from the border with Alberta to Hay River, NWT is approximately 80 miles.
In 1981, CN purchased the other half of the Northern Alberta Railways from Canadian Pacific Railway, allowing CN to operate continuously from Edmonton, AB to Hay River, NWT.
[edit] Sale to RailLink
Between November 1997 and May 1998 CN sold its lines running from Smith, AB on the former NAR (north of Edmonton) to Peace River and Grimshaw, AB and on to Hay River, NWT to shortline operator RailLink. RailLink consolidated these lines under the name Mackenzie Northern Railway.
RailLink was subsequently purchased by RailAmerica, which continues to operate the Mackenzie Northern Railway between Smith, AB and Hay River, NWT. Commodities include agriculture and forest products from northeastern Alberta and the southern Northwest Territories, as well as fuel and supplies destined for Arctic communities to be barged across Great Slave Lake and down the Mackenzie River to the Beaufort Sea.
[edit] CN Buys Lines Back
On January 19, 2006, CN announced the purchase from RailAmerica Inc. of the Mackenzie Northern Railway, the Lakeland & Waterways Railway, and the Central Western Railway (jointly known as RLGN/CWRL).
CN has come full circle by paying $26 million for the three northern Alberta rail lines it sold nine years ago.
In buying the Mackenzie Northern, Lakeland & Waterways and Central Western railways from RailAmerica, CN gets an already profitable operation with potential to profit from strong growth in the oilsands and natural gas pipelines, said spokesman Jim Feeny . It will spend $40 million over the next three years upgrading the system "to CN standards" to allow the movement of larger volumes of oil and gas infrastructure building materials, oilsands byproducts, minerals, and forest and grain products in northern Alberta, Feeny said.
(Jim Feeny, Director, CN Public Affairs)
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Current (operating) regional railways of Canada Former or fallen flag regional railways of Canada |
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Current (operating) short line railways of Canada |
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Former or fallen flag short line railways of Canada |
