Sea-to-Sky Line

The Sea-to-Sky Line is a 93.7 mile railway line of the British Columbia Railway (BC Rail) running from North Vancouver on the North Shore Line to Pemberton on the Cariboo Line, via Squamish, where it connects to the Ferry Yard Branch and the Squamish Terminals Branch.

The Sea-to-Sky Line is Line 60, the Ferry Yard Branch is Line 601, and the Squamish Terminals Branch is Line 602 of the Pacific Great Eastern Region of BC Rail.

Squamish is the site of a very large classification yard and large locomotive and rolling stock maintenance depots.

History
The Howe Sound, Pemberton Valley & Northern Railway (HSPV&N) was chartered in 1907 to build a railway from Newtown (as Squamish was known until 1914) to Prince George. It immediately began construction of the line, but due to financial difficulties encountered before any operations commenced, it was purchased by another group of owners in the spring of 1910. Renamed Howe Sound & Northern Railway (HS&N), it opened the first 21.9 mile section of line from Newtown to Garibaldi later that same year, and work began at once on the next stretch of 143.4 miles to Clinton. Shortly before the extension was opened in 1912, the HS&N was sold again, bought this time by the owners of the British Great Eastern Railway, which renamed it Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE). Later in 1912, a line was opened from North Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver; this line was closed again in 1928, after the opening of Marine Drive and the inauguration of bus services drew passengers away from the railway. To connect the railway to the rest of the railway network of North America, a rail ferry service was initiated between Squamish and Vancouver. By 1918, however, the owners were looking to divest themselves of the railway due to other financial difficulties, and at length it was nationalised by the Dominion government that year.

The PGE retained its own separate identity until 1956, when the present line from North Vancouver to Squamish was opened (using a different routing between North Vancouver and Horseshoe Bay than the original 1912 route went). At that time, it was absorbed by the (likewise Crown-owned) British Columbia Railway; the merger went into effect on 1 January of that year. The BCR divided the PGE's network up into named Lines, with the former Squamish Subdivision from Squamish to Lillooet (the line had been extended from Clinton to Quesnel in 1921) being divided in two, with the North Vancouver–Squamish–Clinton section becoming the Sea-to-Sky Line and the Clinton–Lillooet–Williams Lake section becoming the Cariboo Line. The opening of the North Vancouver–Squamish section eliminated the need for the Squamish–Vancouver rail ferry, which significantly decreased the travel time between the two points, and significantly increased the amount of traffic that could be handled.

Ferry Yard Branch
The Ferry Yard Branch runs 3.0 miles from Squamish Ferry Yard to Squamish Station; this branch was part of the original 1910 mainline. The opening of the line to North Vancouver and the accompanying discontinuation of the rail ferry service in 1956 resulted in this stretch becoming a branch line, with the passenger station being moved from this line to the present site, which had originally been the freight yard. The branch remains in use to serve a number of industries located along its length.

Squamish Terminals Branch
This is a 2.1 mile branch line opened in 1972 to serve a container terminal opened that year. Under construction adjacent is a liquified natural gas terminal owned by Standard Oil of British Columbia, to be operational in 2022.

Freight
Freight service is extensive on this line; all freight trains are operated as extras.

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 are not applicable to the West Coast Express.

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 Sea-to-Sky Line sees two Limited Express services, that are restricted to operation in the winter ski season.


 * 151.1-3/152.1-3 Sea-to-Sky Limited: North Vancouver – Whistler
 * Non-stop service during ski season only, with one daily return Monday through Thursday, three daily returns Friday through Sunday. Intermediate stops: none


 * 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 is only one Express train on the Sea-to-Sky 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

Local
Local trains are passenger trains that make scheduled stops at all stations and halts along the route they serve. There are two Local trains on the Sea-to-Sky Line; neither has baggage handling.


 * 6001.1-3/6002.1-3: North Vancouver – Pemberton
 * Three daily return trips, first and second class with a cafeteria car.


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

West Coast Express
The West Coast Express is a dedicated commuter service on three lines in Greater Vancouver operated under contract to the Greater Vancouver Transit Authority; one of these, between North Vancouver and Squamish, is operated by BC Rail. There are four trains daily Monday to Friday, running Up only in the mornings and Down only in the evenings.

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