Peace River Line

The Peace River Line is an electrified 257.5 mile railway line of the British Columbia Railway (BC Rail) running from Prince George, where it connects with the Grand Trunk Line and the North Fraser Line, to Dawson Creek, where it connects to the Canadian National Railway's Dawson Creek Subdivision. In addition, there are numerous other connections along the length of the line: at Northwood to the Shady Valley Connecting Line, at Summit Lake Junction to the Omineca Line, at Wakely to the Tumbler Ridge Line, at Kennedy to the Williston Lake Line, at Chetwynd to the Fort Nelson Line, and at Sundance Lakes to the Mechpulp Branch. 97.2 miles of the line are double tracked.

The Peace River Line is Line 80 and the Mechpulp Branch is Line 8001 of BC Rail's Northern Region.

Azouzetta Station is located at the village of the same name, which is the entry point to the world-famous Powder King Ski Resort - the only year-round destination alpine resort in North America found alongside a major route (Highway 97); it is ranked #3 of all ski resorts in North America.

Imperial Road Station is Dawson Creek's freight yard; CN freight trains from Edmonton run through to Imperial Road. At Dawson Creek are BC Rail's northern diesel locomotive shops, which is also used by CN.

= History = The Peace River Line was opened by the British Columbia Railway in 1958, coinciding with Dawson Creek's designation as the first "New Town" in British Columbia, following the British development of planned model cities of the same name. It was this planned development, together with policies of directed immigration and incentives to encourage people from the Lower Mainland to relocate to the New Towns, that led to them becoming the important economic and cultural centres of the North that they have become, led by Dawson Creek - which, with a population of 317,000, is the largest city north of the Grand Trunk Line.

The section of line from Prince George to Kennedy was electrified from its opening. Electrification from Kennedy to Chetwynd was completed in 1977, whilst the remaining section from Chetwynd to Dawson Creek was energised in 1980. The River Bend–Summit Lake section was double-tracked in 1996, followed by Chetwynd–Dawson Creek in 2001.

A smaller scale derivative of the "New Towns" plan, called the "Liveable North Programme", was introduced in 1976. Chetwynd was the first community to receive expansion investment under the programme, followed by Summit Lake in 1978.

Mechpulp Branch
The electrified 2.6 mile Mechpulp Branch from Sundance Lakes to Mechpulp Yard was opened in 1969 to serve the Chetwynd Mechanical Pulp mill opened that year; the branch was electrified in 1980.

= Services = The Peace River Line is one of the five busiest railway lines in BC.

Freight
Freight traffic on the Peace River Line is extremely heavy.

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.

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 Peace River Line sees three international and one domestic Limited Express service.

International
All international Limited Express trains feature full-service dining cars open to first and second class passengers, sleeping cars (first class) and sleeperette cars (second class), as well as baggage handling, free of charge for first class passengers, or for a surcharge for second class passengers. International services may be used for domestic travel, but for travel between three or fewer domestic stops a surcharge is applied.


 * 121/122 Klondike Limited (BCR): Prince George, BC – Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
 * Three trains run weekly in each direction, with northbound trains departing Prince George on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and southbound trains departing Whitehorse on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. This train runs entirely over BC Rail trackage and is operated with BC Rail equipment and crews. Intermediate stops:
 * BC: Fort St James, Takla, Dease Lake, Porter Landing, Cassiar, Klinkit
 * Yukon: Teslin, Carcross


 * 123/124 Aurora Borealis (BCR/VIA Rail): Edmonton, Alberta, Canada – Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
 * Two trains run weekly in each direction using mixed consists of VIA rail coaches and BC Rail baggage, dining, sleeping, and sleeperette cars. Northbound trains depart Edmonton on Tuesday and Thursday, and southbound trains depart Whitehorse on Monday and Wednesday. This train runs over BC Rail trackage between Whitehorse and Dawson Creek, and over Canadian National trackage between Dawson Creek and Edmonton. One of the return trips are operated with BC Rail locomotives and crews, the other with VIA locomotives and crews. Intermediate stops:
 * Alberta: Slave Lake, McLennan, Winagami, Grand Prairie, Beaver Lodge
 * BC: Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Fort St James, Takla, Dease Lake, Porter Landing, Cassiar, Klinkit
 * Yukon: Teslin, Carcross


 * 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 BC Rail sleeping cars in the summer months and one ARR and one BC Rail 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 BC Rail "Klondike Limited" between Whitehorse and Prince George, to the BC Rail "Fraser-Skeena" domestic express between Prince George and Ashcroft, to the BC Rail "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
Limited Express trains on entirely domestic routes feature free baggage handling for both first and second classes, along with a cafeteria car open to both classes.


 * 155/156, 157/158 Powder King Special: Prince George – Azouzetta
 * Two daily returns, ski season only. BC Rail has an arrangement with several airlines allowing passengers from the United States to buy tickets for this train bundled with their airfare between Prince George and Anchorage (Wien Air Alaska), Chicago (United Airlines), Detroit (Inter-Dominion Air Lines), Los Angeles (Western Airlines), and Seattle (Hawkair). With this ticket, passengers and their luggage are forwarded directly from the airport to the train by a shuttle bus operated by BC Rail. Intermediate stops: none

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 domestic Express trains on the Peace River Line.


 * 81.1-3/82.1-3 Kiskatinaw: Prince George – Dawson Creek
 * Two daily return trips and one daily overnight trip in each direction, all operated by express EMU (class EM30) with first- and second-class convertible cars (chair/sleeperette) and cafeteria and baggage compartments.. Intermediate stops: Summit Lake, Wakely, Kennedy, Azouzetta, Chetwynd, Arras


 * 83/84 Tahltan Highlander: Dease Lake – Dawson Creek
 * One daily overnight trip in each direction with sleeping cars (first class) and sleeperettes (second class), a dining car, and two second-class chair car. Intermediate stops: Arras, Chetwynd, Azouzetta, Kennedy, Wakely, Summit Lake, Echo Lake, Tl’azt’en, Fort St James, Takla, Bulkley House

Local
Local trains are passenger trains that make scheduled stops at all stations and halts along the route they serve. There are seven Local trains on the Peace River Line; all but one are operated with electric multiple-unit trainsets; baggage and parcel service is available for a surcharge.


 * 8011E.1-2/8012E.1-2: Prince George - Summit Lake - Fort St James
 * Two daily round trips operated by EMU, first and second class with a cafeteria compartment.


 * 8021E.1-2/8022E.1-2: Prince George - Wakely - Tumbler Ridge
 * Two daily round trips operated by EMU, first and second class with a cafeteria compartment.


 * 8031E.1-2/8032E.1-2: Prince George - Kennedy - Mackenzie
 * Two daily round trips operated by EMU, first and second class with a cafeteria compartment.


 * 8033E.1-2/8034E.1-2: Dawson Creek - Kennedy - Mackenzie
 * Two daily round trips operated by EMU, first and second class with a cafeteria compartment.


 * 8035E.1-2/8036E.1-2: Vanderhoof – Fort St James – Summit Lake - Kennedy - Mackenzie
 * Two daily round trips operated by EMU, first and second class with a cafeteria compartment.


 * 8041E.1-2/8042E.1-2: Dawson Creek - Chetwynd - Fort St John
 * Two daily round trips operated by EMU, first and second class with a cafeteria compartment.

= Route = A yellow background indicates an electrified section.

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