Clayoquot Line

The Clayoquot Line is a 77.9 mile railway line of the British Columbia Railway (BC Rail) on Vancouver Island running from Alberni on the Alberni Line to Tofino. It connects to the Port Albion Branch at Surf Junction, where it formerly connected to the Ucluelet Branch; until 1983 it also connected to the Great Central Line at Kleecoot.

The Clayoquot Line is Line 1112, the former Great Central Line was Line 1111, the former Ucluelet Branch was Line 11121, and the Port Albion Branch is Line 11122 of the Island Region of BC Rail.

= History =

Great Central Line
In 1914, the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway (E&N) opened an 11.6 mile line from Alberni to Great Central, where the King Farris Lumber Company had built a large sawmill. As it turned out, Bloedel, Stewart & Welch owned nearly all of the available timber in the area, so in 1915, King Farris sold out to Bloedel, who then began working the region, building a logging railway as well; the E&N moved cut lumber and pulpwood from the sawmill.

In 1920, the E&N surveyed a route from Great Central to Comox Lake, but this was never built.

After the BCR absorbed the E&N, the Alberni–Great Central section was given the name Great Central Line. The section from Kleecoot to Great Central was closed in 1983; at that time, the Alberni–Kleecoot section was transferred to the Clayoquot Line, with the "Great Central Line" name falling out of use.

Clayoquot Line
At the same time as it was surveying the route to Comox Lake, the E&N surveyed a route to Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island. But, while the Comox Lake line was never built, work on the Tofino line began, from Kleecoot, in 1925, and was completed in 1929. Although it never became as profitable as had been expected, it became important enough to the area that it remains in operation to this day. In 1978, after the BCR takeover of the E&N, the Kleecoot–Tofino line was named Clayoquot Line.

Ucluelet Branch
This 5.4 mile branch from Surf Junction to Ucluelet was opened by the E&N in 1930. It was closed in 1963 due to low traffic, but the branch and the track remain in place.

Port Albion Branch
A year after opening the branch to Ucluelet, the E&N opened another short branch line from Surf Junction, this one a 4.4 mile run to Port Albion. This line sees only freight traffic, primarily outbound lumber and seafood.

= Services =

Freight
At present, there are two weekly freight trains between Port Alberni and Tofino; initially these ran daily, but in 1959 the schedule was reduced to thrice a week, and finally in 1987 it was cut again to the current twice weekly.

Passenger
Until 1963 there were two local trains running on the line, one a Port Alberni–Tofino trip, the other a Port Alberni–Ucluelet run. In addition, there was a daily express service running between Nanaimo and Tofino, known as the Clayoquot Limited. In 1963 the Ucluelet local was discontinued, but the Port Alberni–Tofino local remained on the timetable until 1983. When it was discontinued, the Clayoquot Limited was downgraded to a semi-express Rapid service, but in recognition of the train's history, it kept the Clayoquot Limited name. At present, this is the only passenger service on the line. In the summer timetable, Long Beach is added to the itinerary as a scheduled stop. The train will stop at any station with minimum one hour advance booking.

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.


 * 17/18 Clayoquot Limited (BCR): Nanaimo – Tofino
 * One daily return trip with a cafeteria car; no baggage service. Intermediate stops: Parksville, Port Alberni, Sproat Lake Landing, Long Beach (summer only)

= Route = Although officially part of the Alberni Line, the Port Alberni–Alberni section is included here as the Clayoquot Limited has a scheduled stop there, and there is no direct connection between the Clayoquot Line and the Alberni Line other than by reversing at Alberni or Port Alberni; since there are no passenger facilities at Alberni, the stop is thus made at Port Alberni, three-fifths of a mile south of Alberni Station.

A grey background indicates a closed section of the line; italic text indicates a closed connection or a closed station on an open line.

♦ - Scheduled stop • - flag stop; trains stop only with advance booking | - No passenger service