Overview | |
---|---|
Headquarters | New Westminster, BC, Canada |
Reporting mark | SRY |
Locale | Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland, British Columbia |
Dates of operation | 1989– |
Predecessor | British Columbia Electric Railway |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
Length | 132 mi (212 km) |
Other | |
Website | Southern Railway |
The Southern Railway of British Columbia, branded as SRY Rail Link( reporting mark SRY) is a Canadian short line railway operating in southwestern British Columbia. The main facility is the port at Annacis Island with major import of cars, export of forestry products, and other shipments. The railway has interconnections with three Class I railroads, including Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Canadian National (CN) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF). It operates a fleet of 29 locomotives, mostly consisting of EMD [(11)[GP-9]] and [(10)[SW900]] locomotives. SRY also currently rosters 2 SD38-2s, an SD38AC and an SD35. Additionally, SRY formerly rostered 4 GMD1s. The railroad also operates a fleet 2,000 rail cars, hauling approximately 70,000 carloads per year. It operates around 123 miles (198 km) of track, 62 miles (100 km) of which is mainline track. [1]
The Provincial government sold the railway to the Itel Rail Group in 1988. The railway was renamed the Southern Railway of British Columbia. The line was originally built in 1910 as the British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER), an interurban trolley service for passengers (until 1950s) as well as for freight such as farm produce. The railway was taken over by Crown corporation BC Hydro in 1961, and was known as the BC Hydro Railway. In 1988 Freight rights, rolling stock and Rails were sold to Itel of Chicago with protected passenger rights at no cost. In 1994, it was bought by Washington Group International but kept the SRY name. The Washington Group has since merged with URS. To this day the Province and BC Hydro retain the right to reintroduce passenger service. [2] In recent years, with congestion and growing environmental concerns, there has been increasing demand for this service, and willingness to pay, from persons wishing to travel among Fraser Valley communities other than by private automobile. In 2019, the South Fraser Community Rail campaign was being launched, promoted by former BC premier Bill Vander Zalm and former Langley mayor Rick Green, to resurrect passenger service to Chilliwack using the former BCER right-of-way. The proposed light-rail line would be 103 km (64 mi) long. [3]
The Canadian Pacific Railway, also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, known until 2023 as Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001.
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
The Kettle Valley Railway was a subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) that operated across southern British Columbia, west of Midway running to Rock Creek, then north to Myra Canyon, down to Penticton over to Princeton, Coalmont, Brookmere, Coquihalla and finally Hope where it connected to the main CPR line.
Chilliwack is a city of about 100,000 people and 261 km2 (100 sq mi) in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about 100 km (62 mi) east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the greater metropolitan area.
The British Columbia Railway Company, commonly known as BC Rail, is a railway in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
The White Pass and Yukon Route is a Canadian and U.S. Class III 3 ft narrow-gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway, Alaska, with Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. An isolated system, it has no direct connection to any other railroad. Equipment, freight and passengers are ferried by ship through the Port of Skagway, and via road through a few of the stops along its route.
The West Coast Express is a commuter railway serving the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. It is owned and operated by the region's transit authority, TransLink. Opened in 1995, it provides a link between Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional District and is the only commuter railway in Western Canada. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,304,400, or about 6,000 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
The British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) was an historic railway which operated in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Originally the parent company for, and later a division of, BC Electric Company, the BCER assumed control of existing streetcar and interurban lines in southwestern British Columbia in 1897, and operated the electric railway systems in the region until the last interurban service was discontinued in 1958. During and after the streetcar era, BC Electric also ran bus and trolleybus systems in Greater Vancouver and bus service in Greater Victoria; these systems subsequently became part of BC Transit, and the routes in Greater Vancouver eventually came under the control of TransLink. Trolley buses still run in the City of Vancouver with one line extending into Burnaby.
The Island Corridor, previously the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway, is a railway operation on Vancouver Island. It is owned by the Island Corridor Foundation, a registered charity. The railway line is 225 kilometres (140 mi) in length from Victoria to Courtenay, known as the Victoria Subdivision, with a branch line from Parksville to Port Alberni, known as the Port Alberni Subdivision, of 64 kilometres (40 mi), for a total 289 kilometres (180 mi) of mainline track. In 2006, the Island Corridor Foundation acquired the railway's ownership from RailAmerica and Canadian Pacific Railway.
The Super Continental was a transcontinental Canadian passenger train operated by the Canadian National Railway from 1955 until 1977, when Via Rail took over the train and ran it until it was cancelled in 1981. Service was restored in 1985 but was again eliminated in 1990. The original CN train had a Montreal–Ottawa–Toronto-Winnipeg–Saskatoon–Edmonton–Jasper–Vancouver routing with daily service.
BC Transit is a provincial Crown corporation responsible for coordinating the delivery of public transportation within British Columbia, Canada, outside Greater Vancouver. BC Transit is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 26,377,500, or about 108,500 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024.
The Royal Hudsons are a series of semi-streamlined 4-6-4 "Hudson" type steam locomotives formerly owned and operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and built by Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). The engines were built in 1937. In 1939, King George VI allowed the CPR to use the term after Royal Hudson number 2850 transported the royal train across Canada with no need of replacement. These locomotives were in service between 1937 and 1960. Four of them have been preserved. No. 2839 was used to power excursions for the Southern Railway Steam Program between 1979 and 1980. No. 2860 was used for excursion service in British Columbia between 1974 and 1999, then again between 2006 and 2010.
The Marpole CP Rail Bridge was a partially dismantled crossing over the north arm of the Fraser River, and River Dr., in Metro Vancouver.
Marpole Loop is a public transit exchange in the Marpole neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This facility is part of Metro Vancouver's TransLink transit network. Located at the northern foot of the Arthur Laing Bridge, this is the southernmost exchange within the city of Vancouver.
Mount Lehman or Mt. Lehman is a small rural community located in the Fraser Valley of south western British Columbia, Canada. The community was established in 1874 and became part of the District of Matsqui in 1892. The District of Matsqui was incorporated into the present day City of Abbotsford, British Columbia in 1995.
The Kaoham Shuttle is a Lillooet–Seton Portage passenger rail service along the northern shore of Seton Lake in the Squamish-Lillooet region of southwestern British Columbia. By BC Highway 99, the eastern terminus is about 252 kilometres (157 mi) northeast of Vancouver.
The Victoria and Sidney Railway Company (V&S) was one of three railways to operate on the Saanich Peninsula of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Opened in 1894 the route largely closed in 1919 but a section of track remained in use until 1935.
The Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society (FVHRS) restores and operates historic interurban streetcar in Surrey, British Columbia. The organization was formed in 2001 and the heritage streetcar system began in June 2013. It is one of two operating historical tramways in the province.
The Vancouver, Victoria and Eastern Railway (VV&E) was a railway line proposed to connect Metro Vancouver with the Kootenays, in Canada. After acquisition by the Great Northern Railway (GN), most of the route was built, but a passenger through service, using the arranged running rights on the tracks of other companies, never transpired.