Transportation in British Columbia
Okok pej kopa Chinuk Wawa: Kinchoch Kolompi Ilihi yaka mamuk-chikchik
Transportation in British Columbia is of vital importance to the functioning of British Columbia's society and economy.
Road transport[edit]
British Columbia has a well-developed network of highways and trunk roads.
Notable road freight transport companies include CP Transport and its subdivision CP Express, Cal-Van Transport, and Dolphin Express; the transport of goods by road is limited by law - freight may not be transported by road on distances over 150 miles between points connected by rail.
Inter-city bus lines of note are Greyhound BC, Pacific Coach Lines, and Maverick Coach Lines.
Rail transport[edit]
As in many countries, rail transport is an extremely important component of BC's transportation system. As in the rest of North America, the transport of freight comprises the bulk of rail traffic in the Dominion; however, passenger transport has been and continues to be of major importance in BC - in contrast to railways on the rest of the continent, where the importance of the railway to the movement of passengers declined after the 1960s, outside of eastern Canada, the northeast and west coast of the United States, and Mexico. It is only since the dawn of the 21st century that its significance has started to increase once again, with the introduction of true high-speed rail service.
In BC, rail transport is provided by a number of companies, both Crown corporations and privately owned companies.
The price of train tickets in BC is specified by the Ministry of Labour, Industry and Railways in the Schedule of Railway Fares published every three years; this Schedule of Fares is applicable to tickets on all public-service railways in BC.
Current railway companies of BC[edit]
Companies based in BC[edit]
- British Columbia Railway (BCR), Crown, 5541.4 miles; freight and passenger
- Washington & British Columbia Railway (W&BC), Crown-private partnership, 757.9 miles; freight and passenger
- Skeena Pacific Railway (SPR), private-regional partnership, 487.4 miles; freight and passenger
- Royal BC Navy Railway Flotilla (RBCN), Crown (RBCN), 260.0 miles; freight and passenger
- British Columbia Hydro Railway (BCH), Crown (BC Hydro), 215.2 miles; freight and passenger
- Kootenay & Arrowhead Railway (K&A), private-municipal partnership, 60.2 miles; passenger
- Menzies Bay Railway (MBR), private, 26.0 miles; freight and passenger
- BC Army Railway Regiment (BCAR), Crown (BC Army), 32.7 miles; freight
- Spokane International Railroad (SI), Crown-private partnership, 158.5 miles; freight and passenger
Companies based outside of BC[edit]
- Amtrak (AMTK), federal (US), joint operator of some international passenger services
- Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), private (Canadian), 1117.4 miles in BC; freight and passenger
- North Western Pacific Railroad (NWP), private (US), 139.6 miles in BC; freight and passenger
- Canadian National Railway (CN), Crown (Canadian), 26.2 miles in BC; freight
- VIA Rail (VIA), Crown (Canadian); operates passenger trains along CN trackage in BC
- White Pass & Yukon Railway (WPY), private (US), 32.2 miles in BC; freight and passenger
Defunct railway companies of BC[edit]
Air transport[edit]
Commercial air transport is less important in BC than rail transport, but it nevertheless plays an important role, especially in the North and along the central and northern coast, where the road and rail network is less well developed or nonexistent. Air traffic for passenger and freight is provided by a number of Crown corporations and privately owned companies.
As BC's gateway to the world, the most important airport in BC is Grant McConachie International Airport in Vancouver; it is the busiest airport in the Dominion and is the primary airport for overseas services.
Both the Royal BC Air Force and the Royal BC Navy operate regularly scheduled services that are open to the public serving routes in remote areas that are socially essential, but that offer little chance of profitability; these generally operate once a week. The RBCAF also operates scheduled flights between its bases that are open to members of the BCDF and their families.
The registration prefix for civilian aircraft registered in BC is VB.
Current airlines of BC[edit]
| Airline | IATA | ICAO | Callsign | Hub airport(s) or headquarters |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air BC | BC | ABC | SKOOKUM | Kamloops, Prince George, Vancouver, Victoria | scheduled domestic, continental, international; joint flag carrier with Inter-Dominion |
| Cascadia Air | CS | CBF | CASCADIA | Campbell River | scheduled domestic, air taxi, charter |
| Central Mountain Air | 9M | GLR | GLACIER | Hagwilget, Kelowna | scheduled domestic, continental |
| Corilair | CR | COR | CORILAIR | Campbell River Harbour, Vancouver–Coal Harbour | scheduled domestic; charter domestic (floatplane) |
| CP Air | CP | CPC | EMPRESS | Vancouver | scheduled domestic,continental,international; subsidiary of Canadian Pacific Railway |
| Harbour Air | H3 | HES | HARBOUR EXPRESS | Vancouver–Coal Harbour, Victoria Inner Harbour | scheduled domestic |
| Harmony Airways | HQ | HMY | HARMONY | Vancouver | scheduled continental |
| Hawkair | BH | BHA | HAWKAIR | Ganiks Laxha, Mackenzie | scheduled domestic, continental |
| Helijet Airways | JB | JBA | HELIJET | Vancouver Harbour Heliport, Prince Rupert–Seal Cove | scheduled domestic, continental |
| Inter-Dominion Air Lines | ID | IDL | INTER-DOMINION | Vancouver | scheduled continental, international; joint flag carrier with Air BC |
| Island Express Air | IX | IAX | ABBY AIR | Abbotsford | scheduled domestic |
| Jetlines | JL | CJF | JETLINE | Abbotsford, Kelowna | scheduled domestic, continental, international |
| KD Air | KD | KDC | KAY DEE | Qualicum Beach | scheduled domestic |
| Kelowna Flightcraft | FK | KFA | FLIGHTCRAFT | Kelowna | scheduled domestic; charter domestic, continental, international |
| Kootenay Airways | KY | KTY | KOOTENAY | Cranbrook | scheduled domestic |
| North Cariboo Air | N9 | NCB | NORTH CARIBOO | Williams Lake | scheduled domestic; charter domestic |
| Northern Thunderbird Air | TB | NTA | THUNDERBIRD | Prince Rupert, Cassiar, Mackenzie | scheduled domestic |
| Orca Airways | OR | ORK | ORCA TAXI | Vancouver | scheduled domestic |
| Pacific Coastal Airlines | 8P | PCO | PASCO | Bella Bella, Vancouver | scheduled domestic; charter domestic, Alaska |
| Pacific Western Airlines | PW | PWA | PACIFIC WESTERN | Vancouver, Dawson Creek | scheduled domestic, continental; jointly owned by BC and Alberta governments |
| Royal BC Air Force | BF | RBF | OWL | Comox | scheduled domestic |
| Royal BC Navy | BN | RBN | SALTCHUCK | NAB Thunderbird | scheduled domestic |
| Seair | SE | SS1 | SEAIR | Vancouver–Coal Harbour | scheduled domestic; charter domestic (floatplane) |
| Utari Air | UW | UMS | AINU | Furukamap, Iturup | scheduled domestic, continental, international |
| Valley Air Taxi | V1 | VAX | VALLEY TAXI | Chilliwack | scheduled domestic, continental; charter domestic, continental |
| Vancouver Island Air | VL | VIA | VAN ISLE AIR | Campbell River, Nanaimo, Nanaimo Harbour | scheduled domestic |