Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway

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Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway

Reporting marks	QNSL
Locale	Labrador, Quebec
Dates of operation	1954 – present
Track gauge	4 ft 8½ in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Sept Iles, Quebec

The Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway (AAR reporting mark: QNSL) is a Canadian regional railway that stretches 261 miles (414 kilometres) through the wilderness of northeastern Quebec and western Labrador. It connects Labrador City, Labrador with the port of Sept Iles, Quebec on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. QNSL is owned by the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC).

[edit] History

Built between 1951 and 1954, the QNSL originally connected the port of Sept Iles, Quebec on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River with the northern terminus at IOC's mining community of Schefferville, Quebec, a distance of 359 miles (573 km). In 1958, the Wabush ore body near Labrador City was opened by both IOC and the Wabush Mining Company. QNSL built a 36 mile (58 km) line to serve these mines, running west from the Sept Iles, QC-Schefferville, QC main line at Emeril Junction, NL to Carole Lake, NL, near Wabush, NL. Service on this branch began in 1960.

At the same time, Wabush Mining Co. built the relatively short Wabush Lake Railway from its mines at Labrador City, NL to the QNSL connection at Wabush, NL. QNSL hauls its own traffic from Carole Lake to IOC port facilities at Sept Iles, QC. QNSL also hauls Wabush Lake Railway traffic from the interchange at Wabush, NL to Arnaud Jct., QC, near Sept Iles, QC, where it interchanges to the Arnaud Railway, which then completes the journey around Sept Iles Harbour to Wabush Mining Co. port facilities at Point Noire, QC.

In the 1980s, ore at Schefferville, QC was mined out and most residents relocated to Labrador City. QNSL maintained subsidized passenger and freight service for local First Nations communities along this portion of its system, known as the Menihek Subdivision, until December 1, 2005 when it sold the Emeril Jct, NL-Schefferville, QC rail line to Tshiuetin Rail Transportation.