Victoria Terminal Line

The Victoria Terminal Line is an electrified railway line of the Washington & British Columbia Railway (W&BC) running from Cloverdale on the New Westminster Southern and VV&E Lines to the Guichon Auto Terminal at Port Guichon. As well, there are branch lines to BC Ferries' Tsawwassen Ferry terminal and to the Deltaport coal and container terminals, totalling 40.3 miles. Of that, 19.3 miles are double tracked, 18.6 miles are freight only, and 6.0 miles are passenger only.

The Victoria Terminal Line also connects to BC Hydro Railway's Fraser Valley Line at Cloverdale, and to the Semiahmoo Line at Mud Bay.

The Victoria Terminal Line is Line 16, the Tsawwassen Branch is Line 161, the Deltaport Branch is Line 1611, the Deltaport Branch Coal Spur is Line 16111, and the Deltaport Branch Container Spur is line 16112 of the Lower Mainland Region of the W&BC.

= History = Seeking access to Victoria, the Great Northern Railway entered into an agreement with the Victoria & Sidney Railway (V&S) in 1900 which would see the GN build a railway line from a point on its subsidiary the New Westminster Southern Railway to a suitable point at the mouth of the Fraser River, where a rail ferry terminal would be built to connect the V&S to the continental railway network via the Great Northern. To this end, the GN established the Victoria Terminal & Ferry Company in 1901 as a new subsidiary to build and operate the new line. A route was eventually chosen running from Cloverdale on the NWS to Port Guichon, and the line and the ferry terminal were built and a barge was acquired, and the VT&F became operational in 1903 with both freight service and a Victoria–South Westminster passenger train; this was extended from South Westminster to Vancouver in 1904 after the completion of the Fraser River Bridge allowed the GN to secure running rights over the Vancouver, Westminster & Yukon Railway.

In 1909, the VT&F was merged into the Vancouver, Victoria & Eastern Railway, another GN subsidiary, whilst in 1919 the Vancouver Island Railway acquired the V&S; the VIR continued to work in conjunction with the VV&E in operating the services between the island and the mainland. These services likewise continued after the VV&E was merged into the Great Northern in 1921, and after the GN's BC operations were spun off into the Washington & British Columbia Railway until 1953, when the Victoria–Vancouver passenger train was discontinued, but freight operations continued. The line was electrified in 1939.

The branch from Boundary Bay to Tsawwassen was opened in 1969, and when the new BC Ferries terminal was opened in 1960 this branch was extended to serve the terminal directly via Tsawwassen Ferry Station. The mainline was extended from Port Guichon to the Guichon Auto Terminal in 1970 to transport automobiles arriving at the terminal from Australia and, later, South Korea. Finally, the opening of the Deltaport bulk coal and container terminals in 1984 led to the construction of a branch line to serve those as well.

= Services = This busy line sees both freight and passenger traffic.

Freight
Freight traffic on the Victoria Terminal Line is extensive, moving coal for export (Deltaport) and automobiles imported from Australia and Korea (Guichon Auto Terminal); some minimal amounts of traffic is freight destined for DFJB Boundary Bay, an airbase shared by the Royal BC Air Force and the Royal BC Marines. As well, the rail barge service connecting the mainland to Vancouver Island is still in operation.

Passenger
The W&BC operates a number of passenger services on this line, though neither the Limited Express nor Express services make any stops at stations along the line.

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.

There is a RailBus service between Cloverdale and Tsawwassen Ferry, which meets every sailing of the Tsawwassen–Victoria ferry. Like the BC Hydro Railway passenger services, this service is operated under contract to the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority, and GVTA monthly passes are valid on these trains; further, tickets bought for this train at the ferry terminal in Tsawwassen are valid, like all other GVTA transfer tickets, for 90 minutes from the time of purchase on all bus, rail, and SeaBus services within the GVTA operating area.

Limited Express
The W&BC operates one seasonal Limited Express making very few or no intermediate stops; this makes no stops on the Victoria Terminal Line, running between Mud Bay and Cloverdale before moving to the VV&E Line.


 * 431/432 Hozameen Limited: Vancouver (Pacific Central) – Manning Park
 * One return trip daily Friday through Sunday, summer timetable only. First and second class chair cars with a cafeteria car, baggage service free of charge to both classes. Intermediate stops: Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope

Express
The short-trip surcharge that generally applies to Express trains is not applicable to travel occuring entirely inside Washington state on these trains. As is the case with the Hozameen Limited, these trains make no stops on the Victoria Terminal Line before moving on to other lines.


 * '141/142 Cascades'' (W&BC/Amtrak): Vancouver, BC (Pacific Central) – Eugene, Oregon, USA
 * Two daily return trips with special Talgo consists jointly owned by the W&BC and Amtrak and painted in a distinctive Cascades livery; second class chair cars only, with cafeteria car, no baggage service. Intermediate stops:
 * BC: White Rock (BC customs checks)
 * Washington: Blaine (US customs checks), Ferndale, Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Stanwood, Everett, Edmonds, Seattle, Tukwila, Tacoma, Olympia-Lacey, Centralia, Kelso-Longview, Vancouver
 * Oregon: Portland, Oregon City, Salem, Albany


 * 171/172 Coast–Kootenay: Vancouver (Pacific Central) – Nelson
 * Daily service with a morning departure from each end. First and second class chair cars only (no sleeping accomodations), with a cafeteria car; baggage handling free of charge to first class passengers, and available to second class passengers with a surcharge. This train does not stop anywhere on the section between Bridesville and West Midway. Intermediate stops:
 * BC: Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope, Manning Park, Allenby, Princeton, Keremeyus, Chopaka (BC and US customs checks)
 * Washington: Oroville, Molson, Curlew, Danville (BC and US customs checks)
 * BC: Grand Forks, Billings (BC and US customs checks)
 * Washington: Kettle Falls, Boundary (US customs checks)
 * BC: Fort Sheppard (BC and US customs checks), Columbia Gardens, Salmo

Local
Local trains are passenger trains that make scheduled stops at all stations and halts along the route they serve. Most are second-class only with seat-side drink and snack service, but some trains covering longer distances have first class chair cars and a cafeteria car; none of the domestic Local trains do not have baggage handling, and they do not have official names, instead they have only numbers. Both of the Local services on the Victoria Terminal Line are operated with locomotive-hauled trains.

International

 * 1401.1-3/1402.1-3: Vancouver, BC (Pacific Central) – Bellingham, Washington, USA
 * Three daily return trips, second-class only with seat-side drink and snack service.

Domestic

 * 1701.1-2/1702.1-2: Vancouver (Pacific Central) – Princeton
 * Two daily return trips, first and second class with a cafeteria car. Runs between Mud Bay and Cloverdale on the Victoria Terminal Line.

= Route = A yellow background indicates an electrified section.

• - Local stop only R - RailBus stop only | - No passenger service