The Southern Railway of British Columbia, branded as SRY Rail Link is a Canadian short line

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

operating in southwestern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The main facility is the port at

Annacis Island Annacis Island is a narrow island under the jurisdiction of City of Delta in Lower Mainland, British Columbia, located just downstream of the south arm of the Fraser River bifurcation between Lulu Island to the north and the Delta peninsula to ...

with major import of cars, export of forestry products, and other shipments. The railway has interconnections with three

Class I railroad In the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, st ...

s, including

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , 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 Canadi ...

(CP),

Canadian National The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN ...

(CN) and

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC is the parent company of the BNSF Railway (formerly the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway). The company is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, which is controlled by investor Warre ...

(

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

). It operates a fleet of 29 locomotives, mostly consisting of EMD GP-9 and SW900 locomotives. SRY also currently rosters 3 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 of track, of which is mainline track.

History

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 The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the exce ...

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 Washington Group International was an American corporation which provided integrated engineering, construction, and management services to businesses and governments around the world. Based in Boise, Idaho, WGI had approximately 25,000 employees ...

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. 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 long.

References

External links

Southern Railway of British Columbia

Southern Railway of BC Locomotive Roster

{{Canada railways British Columbia railways

History

See also

References

External links