Alberni Line

The Alberni Line is a 38.8 mile railway line of the British Columbia Railway (BC Rail) on Vancouver Island running from Parksville on the Central Coast Line to Port Alberni, where it connects to the Central Island Trunk Line; it also connects to the Clayoquot Line at Alberni.

The Alberni Line is Line 111 of the Island Region of BC Rail.

History
Despite being only 40 miles away, it was nearly a decade after opening their mainline that the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway (E&N) decided to build to Port Alberni. Even though the Vancouver Island Railway (VIR) had announced its intention to build a line from Victoria to Port Alberni even as their first line from Victoria to Patricia Bay was being built, the E&N didn't take the decision to build such a line until after the VIR had reached Cowichan Lake in 1907 - roughly the halfway point of the planned line, 70.5 miles from Port Alberni. Even then, construction on the line west from Parksville wasn't begun until 1909, despite the fact that at the pace the VIR had been building - 73 miles opened in 4 years - the line was expected to be opened in 1911. In the even, however, financial difficulties forced a slowdown in the VIR's tempo, and it wasn't until 1914 that their next section was opened - only 7.6 miles, from Cowichan Lake to Youbou. Thus, despite the dithering, it was the E&N that reached Port Alberni first, opening their line in 1911.

The opening of this line helped to develop the town as a port, and spurred the development of forestry in the Alberni Valley, led by the Alberni Pacific Logging Company and its railway, the Alberni Pacific Railway (APR). The APR's northern line, the Deep Lake Mainline, connected to the E&N at Alberni, where the railway's shops were located; after the APR's abandonment in 1957, the E&N purchased the shop area for its own use, and some of the original structures are still standing. In addition, the APR had running rights from Alberni to Port Alberni and further south over the VIR line to Seizai, where two other APR lines began, the Camp Two Mainline and the China Creek Mainline.

In 1978 the BCR acquired the E&N, and at that time the Parksville–Port Alberni line was named Alberni Line.

Freight
Freight traffic on the Alberni Line has declined somewhat over the years; at present there are only one scheduled freight train, a through train between Port Alberni and Nanaimo Harbour carrying goods to and from the ships and from the paper mill at Alberni, along with a wayfreight between Courtenay and Port Alberni run as an extra.

Passenger
There are only three passenger services that operate on this line, one once-daily Express, one once-daily Rapid, and one twice-daily Local.

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. Exempt from this are the Victoria Metro trains, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Victoria Transit System.

Express
Express trains stop more often than Limited Express trains, but do not make unscheduled stops. The BCR operates only one international regular Express train, the rest are all on domestic routes. The short-trip surcharge is applicable to all travel between Victoria and Ladysmith or between Nanaimo and Langford. There is no baggage service on Vancouver Island trains, other than the on the Pacific Coast Limited.


 * 11/12 Kuthkahchulth (BCR): Victoria Union – Port Alberni
 * One daily return trip with first and second class chair cars and a cafeteria car; no baggage service. Intermediate stops: Esquimalt, Langford, Shawnigan, Cowichan, Duncan, Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Parksville

Rapid
Rapid (also known as "semi-express") trains are similar to regular Express trains, making a limited number of scheduled stops, but stops can be booked up to three hours in advance at any station on the route that has passenger service. Although called a "limited", the Clayoquot Limited was originally a regular Express service; it was downgraded to a Rapid after the Port Alberni–Tofino Local was discontinued in 1982, but retained both its name and its number despite the change in class.


 * 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)

Local
Local trains are passenger trains that make scheduled stops at all stations and halts.


 * 1111.1-2/1112.1-2: Cowichan – Port Alberni
 * Two daily return trips, second class only with seat-side drink and snack service.

Timetable

 * "Down" is towards Parksville; Down trains are superior to Up trains.
 * ↑↓ - train does not stop
 * ƒ - flag stop by reservation only

Route
▲ - Scheduled Express, Rapid, and Local stop ♦ - Scheduled Rapid and Local stop • - Local stop; Rapid trains stop only with advance booking | - No passenger service