Canadian National Railway

The Canadian National Railway (AAR reporting marks CN, CNAA) is a Canadian Crown-owned railway company, owning the largest rail network in Canada. In British Columbia it operates a single line running from Dawson Creek to Edmonton, Alberta; total length of this line is 489.6 miles, of which 26.2 miles are in BC.

= History = The Canadian National Railway was established in 1923 with the merger of several railway companies which had previously been nationalised by the Canadian government: the Dominion Northern Railway, nationalised in 1918 (whose BC subsidiary, the Dominion Northern Pacific Railway, was nationalised in the same year to create the British Columbia Railway); the Canadian Government Railways, established in 1915 via the merger of five previously nationalised railways including the National Transcontinental Railway and the Intercolonial Railway of Canada); the Lewiston & Auburn Railway; the Mount Royal Tunnel & Terminal Railway; the Minnesota & Manitoba Railway; the Grand Trunk Railway (whose BC subsidiary, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, was nationalised by the BC government in 1922); and the Ottawa Terminals Railway.

The Canadian National first appeared in BC in 1981, after it absorbed the Northern Alberta Railway (NAR). The NAR had since 1930 been a jointly owned subsidiary of CN and the Canadian Pacific Railway; CN bought out the CPR's share in 1980, and on 1 January 1981 the NAR disappeared as a corporate entity with the departure of CPR from the joint ownership. CN incorporated its lines into the CN network, allowing CN to operate unhindered north from Edmonton to Hay River, Northwest Territories, and west to Dawson Creek, BC.

= Motive power and rolling stock =

Steam locomotives
Main article: CN steam locomotives in BC

Diesel locomotives
Main article: CN diesel locomotives in BC

= Network = CN owns the largest network of any Canadian railway, divided into operating areas called Regions (equivalent to BC Rail's Regions ), further subdivided into Divisions and Subdivisions (the latter of which are roughly equivalent to BC Rail's Lines).

In British Columbia, CN owns 57.5 miles of rail line, split between two subdivisions; both of these are part of the Yellowhead Division, which in turn is part of the Mountain Region.

Yellowhead Division
57.5 miles in BC, freight only; only BC lines shown here, see Yellowhead Division for other lines.
 * Dawson Creek Subdivision: 489.6 miles (26.2 miles in BC)
 * Edmonton, AB (CN Edmonton East and Edmonton West Terminal Subs) – Winagami, AB – Dawson Creek (BCR)


 * Fort St John Subdivision: 201.6 miles (31.3 miles in BC)
 * Winagami – Roma Jct – Noralta Jct (BCR); CN has running rights over BC Rail trackage to Fort St John. Fort St John – Roma Jct (141.0 miles) freight only.

= Passenger services = In 1977, CN's passenger trains in Canada were taken over by the Canadian Crown corporation VIA Rail; VIA Rail operates a thrice-weekly Edmonton–Whitehorse train along the line, though these trains stop on this line only at Dawson Creek; an international local train with daily service between Dawson Creek and Edmonton exists as well - on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday it is operated by VIA Rail with VIA equipment as an Edmonton–Dawson Creek–Edmonton train, whilst on the other days of the week it is a BC Rail train with BC Rail equipment running Dawson Creek–Edmonton–Dawson Creek.