Cariboo Line

The Cariboo Line is a 218.0 mile railway line of the British Columbia Railway (BC Rail) running from Pemberton on the Sea-to-Sky Line to Williams Lake, where it connects with the Chilcotin–Owikeno Line and the North Fraser Line. In addition, at Clinton it connects with the Sitlika Line, and at St Joseph Mission to the Imperial Line.

The Cariboo Line is Line 61 of the Pacific Great Eastern Region of BC Rail.

Several sections of the line are double-tracked: between Mileposts 85.3 and 86.8, from Kelly Lake to Milepost 98.4, and between Mileposts 145.3 and 146.8. Between Mileposts 145.3 and 145.8 the line is triple-tracked.

= History = The Howe Sound & Northern Railway (HS&N), chartered to build a railway from Squamish to Prince George, had reached Garibaldi in 1910. In 1912, the HS&N was acquired by the British Great Eastern Railway and renamed Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), a few months before the next stretch of 143.4 miles to Clinton was opened. In 1918 the PGE was nationalised by the Dominion government, which then extended the line to Quesnel, opening the 181.3 mile section in 1921.

Under the PGE, the Pemberton–Lillooet section was part of the Squamish Subdivision, the Lillooet–Clinton–Exeter section was part of the Clinton Subdivision, and the Exeter–Williams Lake section was part of the Williams Lake Subdivision. In 1932, the PGE opened a line from Clinton to Ashcroft on the BCR's Inter-Dominion Line; this was also part of the Clinton Subdivision. Although Crown-owned since 1918, the PGE retained its own identity until 1956, when it was absorbed into the BCR once it was connected to the rest of the BCR network via the Squamish to North Vancouver line opened that year. In keeping with the rest of the BCR system, the PGE network was divided into named lines, with the Pemberton–Clinton–Williams Lake line becoming the Cariboo Line, and the Clinton–Ashcroft line becoming the Sitlika Line.

= Services =

Freight
Freight service is extensive on the Cariboo Line, much of it forest products as well as copper and gold from the Mount Polley Mine on the Imperial Line.

Passenger
The various categories of passenger service are defined by the Ministry of Labour, Industry & Railways in conjunction with the Ministry of Transport & Communications; these categories are applicable to and used by all railways providing passenger service in British Columbia. Like all other railways in BC, ticket prices for BC Rail passenger trains are based on the Ministry's Schedule of Railway Fares. These fares do not apply to the RailBus service on this line.

Limited Express
Limited Express trains are BC Rail's fastest and most prestigious trains, making very few or no intermediate stops. They feature free baggage handling for both first and second classes, along with a cafeteria car open to both classes. The Cariboo Line sees two Limited Express services, one year-round international service, and one domestic that is restricted to operation in the winter ski season.

International

 * 191/192 Alaska Limited (BCR/Alaska Railroad): Anchorage, Alaska, USA – Seattle, Washington, USA
 * This is a once-weekly service departing Seattle on Tuesdays and Anchorage on Fridays, consisting of two ARR and two BCR sleeping cars in the summer months and one ARR and one BCR sleeper in the winter. These consists operate as through cars attached to the Alaska Railroad's international semi-express service between Anchorage and Whitehorse, to the BCR "Klondike Limited" between Whitehorse and Prince George, to the BCR "Fraser-Skeena" domestic express between Prince George and Ashcroft, to the BCR "Inter-Dominion Limited" between Ashcroft and Vancouver, and to the W&BC/Amtrak "Cascades" international express between Vancouver and Seattle. Intermediate stops:
 * Alaska: Wasilla, Talkeetna, Denali, Fairbanks, Delta Junction, Dry Creek, Dot Lake, Tanacross, Tok, Tetlin, Northway, Alcan Border (US customs checks)
 * Yukon: Beaver Creek (Canadian customs checks), Snag Junction, Quill Creek, Burwash Landing, Destruction Bay, Kloo Lake, Haines Junction, Canyon, Champagne Landing, Ibex Valley, Whitehorse, Teslin, Carcross
 * BC: Klinkit, Cassiar, Porter Landing, Dease Lake, Takla, Fort St James, Prince George, Red Rock, Quesnel, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, Clinton, Cache Creek, Ashcroft, Hope, Chilliwack, Vancouver (Pacific Central), White Rock (BC customs checks)
 * Washington: Blaine (US customs checks), Ferndale, Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Stanwood, Everett, Edmonds

Domestic

 * 153/154 Whistler Limited: Kamloops – Whistler
 * One daily return Thursday through Sunday during ski season only. Intermediate stops: Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Clinton

Express
Regular Express trains stop more often than Limited Express trains, but do not make unscheduled stops, featuring baggage handling free of charge to first class passengers, and available to second class passengers for a surcharge, and all include either a full-service dining car or a cafeteria car open to all classes. For travel between three or fewer domestic stops a surcharge is applied. There are two Express trains on the Cariboo Line.


 * 61/62 Cariboo Prospector: North Vancouver – Prince George
 * One daily return trip with a dining car. Intermediate stops: Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Lillooet, Clinton, 100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Quesnel


 * 33/34 Fraser-Skeena: Kamloops – Prince George
 * One daily except Sunday return trip with a dining car. Intermediate stops: Cache Creek, Clinton, 100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Quesnel, Red Rock

Local
Local trains are passenger trains that make scheduled stops at all stations and halts along the route they serve. There are five Local trains on the Cariboo Line; none have baggage handling.


 * 6003.1-2/6004.1-2: North Vancouver – Pemberton – Lillooet
 * Two daily return trips, first and second class with a cafeteria car.


 * 6005.1-2/6006.1-2: Pemberton – Lillooet
 * Two daily return trips, second class only with seat-side drink and snack service.


 * 6101.1-3/6102.1-3: Lillooet – Williams Lake
 * Two daily return trips, first and second class with a cafeteria car.


 * 6111.1-2/6112.1-2: Lillooet – Clinton – Ashcroft – Kamloops
 * Two daily return trips, second class only with seat-side drink and snack service.


 * 6121D.1-2/6122D.1-2: Williams Lake – St Joseph Mission – Likely
 * Two daily return trips operated by diesel car, second class only, no drink/snack service.

RailBus
The RailBus moniker is given to a Dominion-wide network of heavy rail transit operated under contract to the Ministry of Transport & Communication, various departments of the Urban Transit Authority, to school districts, or to First Nation governments, as the case may be. BC Rail operates a single RailBus service on the Cariboo Line


 * Nequatque – Lillooet: daily except Christmas Day, departures from Nequatque at 06:30 and from Lillooet at 23:30; travel time is 65 minutes one-way. Stops at Nequatque, McGillivray, Seton Portage, Tsal’álh, and Lillooet. Operated under contract to the Seton Lake Indian Band. Open to the public, a one-way ticket between Nequatque and Lillooet costs £1.13s.6d, a return ticket costs £3 (a discount of 7/- from two one-way fares).

= Route =

● - Scheduled Limited Express, Express, and Local stop ▲ - Scheduled Express and Local stop • - Local stop | - No passenger service