Bus Spotting at Osborne Station

by

I had an hour to kill one June evening this year, so I headed over to the Osborne Village area of Winnipeg. My intent was to look for different photo angles in the area.

I decided to visit the Osborne Station on Winnipeg’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. Here’s a map I drew of the area. The station is at the gray star.

CN Fort Rouge area map
CN Fort Rouge area map

The Osborne Station was part of the first phase of the Southwest Transitway, completed in 2012. From here Phase 2 was built down to the University of Manitoba and opened in the spring of 2020.

I started my photography just south of the station.

Osborne Station on the Winnipeg Bus Rapid Transit line
Osborne Station on the Winnipeg Bus Rapid Transit line

The station is heated by large overhead blowers. I’m not sure how effective it is in the bitter Winnipeg winter, but it has to be better than most bus shelters.

In order to cross the CN Fort Rouge yard, a tunnel was built under the yard. Here a bus on route #47 emerges from the tunnel. Note the “rt” rapid transit line logo on the right in the tile work.

A bus emerging from the tunnel under the CN yard
A bus emerging from the tunnel under the CN yard

I was just south of the station when I took that photo. I would say for train photography I’d prefer to be just a bit higher. It would be neat to capture a train and a bus at the same time…

I went inside the shelter and tried a similar shot. I think this works better. Imagine a train coming, with the VIA Rail depot building in the background…

Potash cars and the VIA Rail depot
Potash cars and the VIA Rail depot

Unfortunately no (moving) train came along while I was there, but I think it was time well spent to scout the location for a future effort.

OSBORNE
OSBORNE

Just One More Thing

I’m a director with Transport Action Canada, representing the western provinces (MB, SK, AB). We advocate for public transit across Canada. You may have known the group as Transport 2000 in the past… but we persisted well past the turn of the century!

I’d love it if you would consider doing one or more of the following:

Thanks for your support!

Please note that anything I write on this site is speaking for myself and not in any official capacity for Transport Action. I hope that is obvious!

6 thoughts on “Bus Spotting at Osborne Station”

  1. I look forward to reading your latest posts each Saturday morning, Steve. They’re not only well written and well illustrated, they place the railways in the context of our lives and our landscape. This one is your best ever because it does all of the things you always do well and it gives me a clearer sense of this part of Winnipeg and the whole role of public transportation.

    About a decade ago, your mayor at the time wanted me to go out to Winnipeg to publicly support his pro-LRT stance, which I did and still do support. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in a position to make that trip to assist him, as much as I would have liked to do so.

    This latest posting of yours sure stirs up some memories and some further thoughts on that issue. Thanks, as always.

    By the way, how are those two lovable felines that allow you and your family to share “their home” doing these days?

    • Thank you for the kind words, Greg. I’d prefer LRT too but I’ll take what we can get. If the city can afford to kick in tens of millions for a single underpass, they can afford to invest in transit.

      Felix is sitting beside me right now, and Millie is nowhere to be found at present but could be summoned by rattling the treat jar.

  2. Oh, no! Did those nasty nerds of narcissism at Transport Inaction hook you into joining them? Heaven help you, Steve. They’ll burn you out fast, just as they’ve done to anyone who is sane, balanced and a team player on the issue of public transportation advocacy. Good luck, brother!

Comments are closed.