Victoria–Courtenay train
The Victoria – Courtenay train used Budd Rail Diesel Cars, as seen here at Qualicum Beach.
Overview
Service typeInter-city rail
StatusIndefinitely suspended
LocaleVancouver Island
Last serviceMarch 19, 2011 (2011-03-19)
Former operator(s)Via Rail
Canadian Pacific Railway
Route
TerminiVictoria
Courtenay
Distance travelled225 kilometres (140 mi)
Average journey time4 hours 45 minutes
Service frequencyDaily
Technical
Rolling stockBudd Rail Diesel Cars
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)Island Corridor Foundation

The Victoria–Courtenay train (named the Malahat until 2009) was a passenger train service operated by Via Rail between Victoria, Nanaimo, and Courtenay on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The service operated over the Island Rail Corridor.[1] In March 2011, was suspended indefinitely due to poor track conditions along the line.[2]

History

Via Rail Canada

The train was formerly operated with Budd Rail Diesel Cars.[1] Via Rail took over passenger services from Canadian National, renaming the service the Malahat in 1979.[3] The tracks were given minor maintenance due to low ridership, leading to service suspension.

Service suspension

Due to poor track conditions, on March 19, 2011, the service was suspended indefinitely for track replacement work.[2][4] Prior to further inspection of the track, service along the segment between Nanaimo and Victoria was originally planned to resume on April 8,[5] but lack of funding prevented any of the work from taking place. A temporary bus replacement was brought in for the service after the closure, but dropping passenger numbers caused the service to be discontinued on August 7.[6] On May 10, nearly two months after suspension, the old Budd cars were moved from the roundhouse in Victoria to a secure yard in Nanaimo, in future hopes of starting commuter service from there.[7] On November 5, they were taken off the island to be returned to central Canada and were to be replaced by new train stock if service resumed.[8] In February 2012, the very short stretch of track from Harbour Road to downtown Victoria was taken out of service due to the removal of the railway bridge as the start of the Johnson Street Bridge replacement project. The Johnson Street Bridge now sit upon the location of the railway bridge. Currently, there are no plans to replace the railway bridge.

In July 2014, following the successful securing of funds from the local, federal, and provincial governments to replace trackage and repair bridges along the line, Via Rail reached an agreement with the Island Corridor Foundation to resume island passenger rail operations. Service between Victoria and Nanaimo was expected to resume in May 2015, with service between Nanaimo and Courtenay beginning in summer 2015.[9] As of June 2018 repairs to the track have not commenced.[10]

Route

When Via Rail took over the service from Canadian Pacific Railway, the line served only Victoria, Duncan, Nanaimo and Parksville daily except Sundays.[11] In 1979, many intermediate stops that existed until the line's closure were added to the schedule and the train began operating daily.[12] The train operated one daily round trip, departing Victoria in the morning, and returning from Courtenay in the evening. The 225-mile (362 km) trip took 4 hours and 45 minutes each way.[13] Proposals of operating a commuter service as far as Nanaimo,[4] or Cowichan[2] have now shifted to focus on running a Westshore commuter service along the first 15 kilometres of track between Victoria and Langford.[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Johnston, Bob (May 2008), "British Columbia's backcountry locals", Trains, Waukesha, WI USA: Kalmbach Publishing, vol. 68, no. 5, pp. 50–55, ISSN 0041-0934
  2. 1 2 3 "Island's Dayliner train parked indefinitely due to track problems". Times Colonist. Glacier Community Media. April 7, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Chronological City History". Victoria Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on 2010-08-30. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
  4. 1 2 "E&N rail service doomed without huge injection of government cash says operators". Viccity.ca. April 26, 2011. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  5. ↑ "VIA prepares to reinstitute partial train service April 8". Via Rail. March 29, 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Travel Advisory - Temporary Bus Replacing VIA's Victoria to Courtenay Train Service To Make Last Trip August 7". July 7, 2011. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Dayliner leaves today for safekeeping in Nanaimo". Times Colonist. Glacier Community Media. May 10, 2011. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
  8. ↑ "E&N Rail cars leaving Island for good". VicNews. November 5, 2011. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Deal signed to resume E&N rail service; boards need to ratify". islandrail.ca. July 11, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  10. ↑ Kines, Lindsay (April 7, 2015). "Island's E&N rail repairs on hold during provincial review". Times Colonist. Glacier Community Media. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  11. ↑ VIA System Timetable. Montrela: VIA Rail Canada. April 24, 1977. p. 33.
  12. ↑ VIA Rail Canada System Timetable. Montreal: VIA Rail Canada. June 17, 1979. p. 38.
  13. ↑ "Victoria-Courtenay train - Schedules". Via Rail. Archived from the original on June 21, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
  14. ↑ "Developer wants commuter rail service up and running in one year". VictoriaNews. December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
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