The Bloom Lake Railway (formerly BLRC) is a privately owned

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

short line railway Railroad classes are the system by which freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportation Board in 1992. With a ...

operating in the province of

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

and

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The project was commissioned for

Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CCI, formerly Cliffs Natural Resources) is an American steel manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. They specialize in the mining, beneficiation, and pelletizing of iron ore, as well as steelmaking, including stamping a ...

to connect their new Bloom Lake mine (opened in 2010) near Fermont, Quebec with the existing

Wabush Lake Railway The Wabush Lake Railway (formerly WABL and NLCL) is a short line railway operating in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The railway was built in 1960 from the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway to Wabush, initially called ...

Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador Wabush is a small town in the western tip of Labrador, bordering Quebec, known for transportation and iron ore operations. Economy Wabush is the twin community of Labrador City. At its peak population in the late 1970s, the region had a populatio ...

. The Bloom Lake Railway was constructed between 2006 and 2010. All of the railway, except the first , are located in Labrador.

Iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

concentrate is transported by Bloom Lake Railway to Wabush, then on the

Labrador City, Newfoundland and Labrador Labrador City is a town in western Labrador (part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador), near the Quebec border. With a population of 7,412 as of 2021, it is the second-largest population centre in Labrador, behind Happy Valley-G ...

. At Labrador City, the

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

concentrate is interchanged to the Quebec, North Shore and Labrador Railway for the journey south to the shipping port in

Sept-Îles, Quebec Sept-Îles (, , ) is a city in the Côte-Nord region of eastern Quebec. Along with Brador, Quebec, Brador and Blanc-Sablon, Sept-Îles is one of the oldest places in the province. The population was 24,569 as of the 2021 Canadian census. The ...

. A total of 740 rail cars were purchased for the line. In 2011,

Genesee & Wyoming Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) is an American short line railroad holding company, that owns or maintains an interest in 122 railroads in the United States, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom; and formerly in Australia. ...

began control of operations on behalf of the owners under the name Western Labrador Rail Services. The new operation encompasses the ARND, Bloom Lake Railway, and

WABL WABL is a classic hits formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Amite, Louisiana, serving Amite and Central Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Tangipahoa Parish () is a parish located on the southeastern border of the U.S. state of Louisia ...

References

Railway Proposal to the Newfoundland Government

Article on Opening of the Line
Newfoundland and Labrador railways Quebec railways {{Quebec-transport-stub