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Southern Railway of British Columbia - SRY

Routes:

New Westminster - Chilliwack, BC (63.8 miles)

Headquarters:

New Westminster, BC

Junctions with other railroads:

BNSF: Huntingdon & New Westminster, BC

CN: Chilliwack & New Westminster, BC

CP: New Westminster, BC

Radio Frequencies:

160.275, 160.545, 160.605

History:

Formed in 1897 as British Columbia Electric Railway to unite the separate interurban and street railway systems in Vancouver, Victoria and New Westminster.

Passenger service ended in 1950.

BCER taken over by provincial government and became British Columbia Hydro Railway in 1962.

Line sold to Itel Rail Corp in 1988 and became Southern Railway of British Columbia.

Line sold to Washington Corp. in 1994.

Ownership:

Washington Corp.

Roster:

Southern Railway Vancouver Island - SVI

Route:

Victoria - Esquimalt - Nanaimo - Parksville - Courtenay, BC (139.7 miles)

Parksville - Port Alberni, BC (37 miles) --- currently out of service

Headquarters:

Wellcox Yard, Nanaimo, BC

Junctions with other railroads:

CP: via barge between Nanaimo and Tilbury (Delta), BC

Radio frequencies:

unknown

History:

Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway incorporated on September 27, 1883.

Railroad sold to CPR in 1905.

Renamed E&N Railfreight in 1996.

Port Alberni to Nanaimo section sold to (rest of line leased by) RailAmerica on September 22, 1998.

Service inaugurated by RailAmerica as E&N Railway on January 8, 1999.

Service to Port Alberni suspended during 2001.

Nov 29, 2001 - RailAmerica announced that freight service would end on Dec 31, 2001, with passenger service ending in March 2002.

Freight and passenger service extended month by month while a plan to save the railway was formulated.

By late 2002, negotiations between the Vancouver Island Railway Coalition, RailAmerica and CPR ensured that service would continue.

Mar 7, 2003 - Vancouver Island Railway announced its plans to take over operations by July 2003. These plans did not materialize.

Feb 2006 - Island Corridor Foundation acquired CP-owned portion (Victoria-Nanaimo & Parksville-Courtenay) of ENR.

Mar 2006 - Island Corridor Foundation acquired RailAmerica-owned portion (Nanaimo-Parksville-Port Alberni) of ENR.

Operations taken over by Southern Railway Vancouver Island (SRVI) on July 1, 2006. First day of service was July 4, 2006.

Ownership:

Washington Companies

Roster:

All locomotives provided by SRY

Reporting Marks Reference

Return to Class III Shortlines
Last updated: July 07, 2024