The province of Manitoba in Canada hosts two major freight railways, one passenger railway, one tourist railway and several shortline railways.
Class 1 Railways in Manitoba
CN operates in Manitoba through their main line stretching east-west through Winnipeg, as well as the Letellier subdivision south from Winnipeg to the US border to interchange with BNSF. CN’s “Prairie North Line” runs west from Portage la Prairie through Gladstone, Dauphin and into Saskatchewan.
CP’s operations in Manitoba consist of their main line running through Winnipeg, as well as branch line operations in southern Manitoba and short runs of track north of Winnipeg.
Manitoba Short Line Railways
There are several short line railroads in Manitoba.
- Central Manitoba Railway (CEMR) (within Winnipeg, north to Selkirk and south to Carman)
- BNSF Manitoba (operating within Winnipeg)
- Boundary Trail Railway Company (Morden to Binney in southern Manitoba)
- Hudson Bay Railway (The Pas to Churchill, with connections to Flin Flon and Thompson)
- Keewatin Railway (The Pas to Pukatawagan)
- Greater Winnipeg Water District (GWWD) (Winnipeg to Shoal Lake)
- Lake Line Railroad (Selkirk to Gimli, and Molson to Beausejour)
Passenger Rail in Manitoba
VIA Rail operates three trains in Manitoba:
- The transcontinental Canadian between Vancouver and Toronto, with stops in Winnipeg, Portage la Prairie and Rivers
- The Winnipeg-Churchill train VIA 692/693, formerly known as the Hudson Bay
- VIA 290/291 between The Pas and Pukatawagan, on the Keewatin Railway
Tourist Railways
The sole Manitoba tourist railroad is the Prairie Dog Central, operating on the former CN Oak Point subdivision in the northwest section of Winnipeg. They operate using a steam engine and several diesel locomotives.
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