List of Canadian railways

Major railways in Canada

Freight railways by province

National

Name Reporting marks[1] Locale Ownership Notes
Canadian National Railway CNI British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Publicly traded corporation
Canadian Pacific Railway CP British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec Publicly traded corporation

Multiple provinces

Name Reporting marks[2] Locale Ownership Notes
Bloom Lake Railway N/A Bloom Lake Mine to WLR junction Cliffs Natural Resources Operates in Quebec and Labrador; privately owned, not a common carrier; operated under contract by Genesee & Wyoming
CSX Transportation CSXT US border (Michigan) to Blenheim via Sarnia or US border (New York) to Montreal CSX Corporation Major US railway with small section of direct operations in Quebec and Ontario
Ontario Northland Railway ONT North Bay to Hearst, Moosonee, or Rouyn-Noranda Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a governmental entity Operates in Ontario and Quebec. Also carried passengers
Ottawa Valley Railway OVR Sudbury to Temiscamingu Genesee & Wyoming Operates in Ontario and Quebec
Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway QNSL Sept-Îles to Wabush Iron Ore Company of Canada Operates in Quebec and Labrador; private service, not a common carrier
Tshiuetin Rail Transportation TSH Schefferville to QNSF junction Tribally owned Operates in Newfoundland and Labrador. Also carries passengers.

British Columbia

Name Reporting marks[3] Locale Ownership Notes
BC Rail BCOL Surrey to Roberts Bank Superport Provincially owned 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
BNSF Railway BNSF Vancouver to US border (Washington State) Berkshire Hathaway Major US railway with small section of directly owned operations in British Columbia
Englewood Railway 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
Kelowna Pacific Railway KPR Kelowna/Lumby to Kamloops KnightHawk Rail Ltd.
Kettle Falls International Railway KFR Laurier, WA to Grand Forks & Carson and Waneta to Columbia Gardens OmniTRAX Majority of the line’s trackage is contained in the US
Nelson & Fort Sheppard Railway Corporation NFTS Columbia Gardens to Park Siding Atco Wood Products
Southern Railway of British Columbia SRY Vancouver to Chilliwack URS Corporation
Southern Railway of Vancouver Island SVI Victoria to Courtenay URS Corporation

Manitoba

Name Reporting marks[4] Locale Ownership Notes
BNSF Manitoba BNML Winnipeg to BNSF lines at US border (North Dakota) Subsidiary of BNSF Railway
Central Manitoba Railway CEMR Winnipeg to Graysville and Pine Falls Cando Ltd.
Greater Winnipeg Water District Railway GWWD Winnipeg to Shoal Lake, Ontario City of Winnipeg Not a common carrier. Governmental railway used to service city aqueduct.
Hudson Bay Railway HBRY The Pas to Churchill OmniTRAX
Keewatin Railway KRC The Pas to Lynn Lake Tribally owned Also carries passengers.

New Brunswick

Name Reporting marks[5] Locale Ownership Notes
New Brunswick Southern Railway NBSR St. John to St. Stephen J.D. Irving Limited
Springfield Terminal Railway ST St. Stephen to US border (Maine) Pan Am Railways

Newfoundland and Labrador

Name Reporting marks[6] Locale Ownership Notes
Wabush Lake Railway WLR Labrador City to Wabush Cliffs Natural Resources Privately owned; not a common carrier

Nova Scotia

Name Reporting marks[7] Locale Ownership Notes
Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway CBNS Truro to Sydney Genesee & Wyoming
Sydney Coal Railway SCR Sydney to Lingan Power Plant Logistec Inc.
Windsor and Hantsport Railway WHRC Bedford to Windsor Iron Road Railways

Ontario

Name Reporting marks[8] Locale Ownership Notes
Algoma Central Railway AC Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst Subsidiary of Canadian National Railway Also carries passengers
Barrie-Collingwood Railway BCRY Inisfil to Utopia Municipally owned, operated under contract by Cando Ltd.
Essex Terminal Railway ETL Amherstburg to Windsor, Ontario Essex Morterm Holdings
Goderich-Exeter Railway GEXR Brampton to Goderich via London and Stratford Genesee & Wyoming
Guelph Junction Railway GJR Guelph to Campbellsville Municipally owned, but operated by Ontario Southland Railway
Huron Central Railway HCRY Sudbury to Sault Ste. Marie Genesee & Wyoming
Minnesota, Dakota and Western Railway MDW US border (Minnesota) to Fort Frances Boise Cascade US short line railway that owns trackage to serve one major Canadian customer
Ontario Southland Railway OSRX Woodstock to Tillsonburg or St. Thomas Independently owned
Orangeville-Brampton Railway OBRY Orangeville to Streetsville Owned by Orangeville-Brampton Development Corporation, a nonprofit entity; operated by Cando Ltd.
Port Colborne Harbour Railway PCHR St. Catharines to Port Colborne Trillium Railways
Southern Ontario Railway RLHH Brantford to Nanticoke via Hamilton Genesee & Wyoming
St. Thomas and Eastern Railway STER St. Thomas to Delhi Trillium Railways
Vale Railway VAEX Sudbury to nickel mines Vale Inco Privately owned; not a common carrier

Quebec

Name Reporting marks[9] Locale Ownership Notes
Chemin de fer Arnaud CFA Sept-Îles to port facilities Cliffs Natural Resources Privately owned, not a common carrier
Chemin de fer Baie des Chaleurs CBC Matapédia to Gaspé Subsidiary of Canadian National Railway
Cartier Railway N/A Port-Cartier to Mont Wright mine ArcelorMittal Privately owned, not a common carrier
Charlevoix Railway CFC Quebec City to Clermont Groupe Le Massif Inc. Also carries passengers
Chemin de fer Lanaudière CFL Joliette to Saint-Felix Independently owned
Chemin de fer de l'Outaouais CFO Gatineau to Wakfield Municipally owned
Chemin de fer de la Matapédia et du Golfe CFMG Rivière-du-Loup to Matane and Matapédia Subsidiary of Canadian National Railway
Quebec Gatineau Railway QGRY Quebec City to Gatineau via Montreal Genesee & Wyoming
Chemin de fer de la Rivière Romaine CFRR Havre-Saint-Pierre to iron mine QIT-Fer et Titane Privately owned, not a common carrier
Roberval and Saguenay Railway RS Jonquière to La Baie Rio Tinto Alcan
Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway MMA Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu to US border (Maine) via Sherbrooke Rail World, Inc. Bankrupt August 2013 due to Lac-Mégantic derailment; majority of the line’s trackage was located in the US.
Port of Montreal Railway N/A Port of Montreal to CN/CP junctions Montreal Port Authority, a federal governmental entity
St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad SLQ Montreal to US border (Vermont) via Sherbrooke Genesee & Wyoming

Majority of the line’s trackage is located in the US

Saskatchewan

Name Reporting marks[10] Locale Ownership Notes
Big Sky Rail BGS Delisle to Beechy, Macrorie to Laporte, and Wartime to Kyle subsidiary of Mobil Grain Ltd.
Carlton Trail Railway CTRW Warman to Birch Hills or White Star or to Pulp Mill (Prince Albert) OmniTRAX
Fife Lake Railway FLR Hart Butte to GWR junction Municipally owned; operated by Great Western Railway
Great Sandhills Railway GSR Swift Current to Burstall Independently owned
Great Western Railway GWRS Assinboia or Bracken to CPR junction Independently owned local cooperative; managed by WestCan Rail [11]
Last Mountain Railway LMR Regina to Davidson partnership of Mobil Grain Ltd. and municipal governments
Long Creek Railroad LCRI Estevan to Tribune Independently owned
Red Coat Road and Rail RCRR Pangman to GWR junction Municipally owned, but operated by GWR
Southern Rails Cooperative SORA Moose Jaw to Parry Farmer-owned cooperative
Thunder Rail TR Arborfield to CN junction Municipally owned
Torch River Rail TRRR Choiceland to Nipawin Municipally owned
Wheatland Railway WRI St. Louis to Tozke Municipally owned, but operated by Canadian National Railway

Freight railways with trackage rights only

Name Reporting marks[12] Locale Ownership Notes
Maine Central Railroad MEC US border (Maine) to St. John, NB Pan Am Railways US railway with trackage rights over New Brunswick Southern line
Norfolk Southern Railway 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
New England Central Railroad NECR US border (Vermont) to Quebec City via Montreal RailAmerica US railway with trackage rights over Canadian National line
Union Pacific Railroad UP US border (Washington) to Vancouver Publicly traded corporation Major US railway with trackage rights over BNSF line

Passenger railways

Name Reporting marks[13] Locale Ownership Notes
Trains de Banlieue AMT AMT Greater Montreal Agence Métropolitaine de Transport, a provincial entity 3 commuter routes with trackage rights over CP lines, 2 commuter routes with trackage rights over CN lines
GO Transit 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
Rocky Mountaineer 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 Rail 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
West Coast Express BCVX Mission to Vancouver TransLink, a provincial entity 1 commuter route with trackage rights over CP line

Urban rail transit

Name Locale Ownership Notes
C-Train Calgary Calgary Transit2 light rail lines
Edmonton LRT Edmonton Edmonton Transit System1 light rail line
Montreal Metro Montreal, Laval, and Longueuil Societé de Transport de Montréal 4 heavy rail metro lines (running on tires)
O-Train Ottawa OC Transpo 1 light rail line
Toronto Subway and RT Toronto Toronto Transit Commission 3 heavy rail metro lines and 1 light metro line
Toronto Streetcar System Toronto Toronto Transit Commission 11 streetcar lines
Vancouver SkyTrain Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Richmond TransLink3 light metro lines

Heritage railways

Defunct railways

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2009.
  2. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2009.
  3. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2009.
  4. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2009.
  5. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2009.
  6. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2009.
  7. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2009.
  8. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2013.
  9. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2009.
  10. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2009.
  11. ↑ "Great Western Railway Official Website". Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  12. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2009.
  13. ↑ Railinc, Search MARKs. Retrieved February 2009.

See also

External links