Winnipeg–Churchill train

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Winnipeg–Churchill train - Wikipedia

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Winnipeg–Churchill train

The Winnipeg–Churchill train at Churchill in 1997

Overview

Service type

Inter-city rail

Status

Operating

Locale

Manitoba, Canada

Current operator(s)

Via Rail

Former operator(s)

Canadian National Railway

Ridership

192 weekly (FY 2019)^[1]

Annual ridership

21,129 (FY 2019)^[1]

Website

Winnipeg - Churchill

Route

Termini

Winnipeg, Manitoba, The Pas, Manitoba
Churchill, Manitoba

Distance travelled

1,710 km (1,063 mi)

Average journey time

44 h 55 m to Churchill, 45 h 15 m to Winnipeg

Service frequency

3 trains per week

Train number(s)

693, 691 (northbound),
692, 690 (southbound)

On-board services

Class(es)

Economy and sleeper class

Seating arrangements

Coach Seat

Sleeping arrangements

Sleepers (offering some "open sections")

Catering facilities

Dining Car

Technical

Rolling stock

Stainless Steel Cars

Track gauge

1,435 mm (4 ft 81⁄2 in)

Operating speed

80 mph (128 km/h)

Track owner(s)

CN, HBRY, KRC

Route map

Legend

1697 km

1054 mi

Churchill

1685 km

1047 mi

Tidal

1670 km

1038 mi

Digges

1659 km

1031 mi

Bylot

1646 km

1023 mi

Lamprey

1632 km

1014 mi

Chesnaye

1617 km

1005 mi

Cromarty

1603 km

996 mi

Belcher

1588 km

987 mi

M'Clintock

1575 km

979 mi

Back

1562 km

971 mi

O'Day

1548 km

962 mi

Kellett

1540 km

957 mi

Herchmer

1520 km

944 mi

Silcox

1508 km

937 mi

Thibaudeau

1492 km

927 mi

Lawledge

1477 km

918 mi

Weir River

1463 km

909 mi

Charlebois

1448 km

900 mi

Amery

1435 km

892 mi

Bird

1414 km

879 mi

Kettle Rapids

1401 km

871 mi

Gillam

1390 km

864 mi

Luke

1366 km

849 mi

Wivenhoe

1353 km

841 mi

Nonsuch

1337 km

831 mi

Ilford

1310 km

814 mi

Munk

1289 km

801 mi

Pit Siding

1279 km

795 mi

Boyd

1257 km

781 mi

Arnot

1249 km

776 mi

Wilde

1229 km

764 mi

Bridgar

1220 km

758 mi

Pikwitonei

1199 km

745 mi

Sipiwesk

1149 km

714 mi

Thompson

1086 km

675 mi

Leven

1073 km

667 mi

Thicket Portage

1064 km

661 mi

Hockin

1052 km

654 mi

La Perouse

1041 km

647 mi

Earchman

1031 km

641 mi

Odhill

1017 km

632 mi

Lyddal

996 km

619 mi

Wabowden

985 km

612 mi

Pipun

973 km

605 mi

Dunlop

961 km

597 mi

Button

949 km

590 mi

Ponton

927 km

576 mi

Turnbull

907 km

564 mi

Wekusko

890 km

553 mi

Paterson

877 km

545 mi

Dyce

864 km

537 mi

Rawebb

850 km

528 mi

Dering

843 km

524 mi

Cormorant

837 km

520 mi

Halcrow

825 km

513 mi

Budd

811 km

504 mi

Finger

804 km

500 mi

Atikameg Lake

798 km

496 mi

Orok

790 km

491 mi

Tremaudan

Keewatin Railway

to Pukatawagan

777 km

483 mi

The Pas

Manitoba

Saskatchewan

636 km

395 mi

Hudson Bay

586 km

364 mi

Reserve

549 km

341 mi

Endeavour

520 km

323 mi

Sturgis

484 km

301 mi

Canora

473 km

294 mi

Mikado

459 km

285 mi

Veregin

446 km

277 mi

Kamsack

412 km

256 mi

Togo

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

385 km

239 mi

Roblin

331 km

206 mi

Grandview

315 km

196 mi

Gilbert Plains

283 km

176 mi

Dauphin

262 km

163 mi

Ochre River

238 km

148 mi

Laurier

224 km

139 mi

McCreary

191 km

119 mi

Glenella

169 km

105 mi

Plumas

148 km

92 mi

Gladstone

The Canadian

to Vancouver

88 km

55 mi

Portage la Prairie

0 km

Winnipeg

The Canadian

to Toronto

The Winnipeg–Churchill train (formerly known as the Hudson Bay and, before that, Northern Spirits)^[2] is a twice weekly passenger train operated by Via Rail between Winnipeg and Churchill, Manitoba. It is the only dry-land connection between Churchill and the rest of Canada.

The service, which runs through Manitoba and Saskatchewan, travels on the Canadian National Railway line north to The Pas, where it transfers to the Hudson Bay Railway, passing through Wabowden, Manitoba, with a spur from Sipiwesk to Thompson, and Gillam on its way to the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay.

Schedule

The northbound train leaves Winnipeg at 12:05 on Tuesdays and Sundays and is scheduled to arrive in Churchill two days later at 09:00. The southbound service departs Churchill at 19:30 on Thursday and Saturday evenings and reaches Winnipeg at 16:45 two days later. An additional weekly service operates in each direction between The Pas (departure at 02:30 on Fridays) and Churchill (departure at 19:30 on Tuesdays). The trip takes approximately 45 hours each way.

History

An unnamed mixed passenger train connecting with the Winnipeg–Churchill train at The Pas previously served Lynn Lake, but this service was truncated to Pukatawagan in 2003 by the then track owners OmniTRAX citing a loss in freight traffic making the service unprofitable. Via still operates twice weekly service from The Pas to Pukatawagan on behalf of the Keewatin Railway which now owns the Sherridon Subdivision.^[2]^[3]^[4]

2017 flooding

Service between Gillam and Churchill was suspended on May 23, 2017, when flooding heavily damaged the track bed and bridges.^[5] Because supplies had to be flown in by air when train service was suspended, prices skyrocketed in Churchill.^[6]

Repairs of the track began on September 8, 2018.^[7] By October 31, 2018, the track was repaired,^[8] and passenger services resumed with train 693 on December 2.^[9]

List of stations

Name	Province	Coordinates
Winnipeg	MB	49°53′20.000″N 97°8′3.001″W / 49.88888889°N 97.13416694°W / 49.88888889; -97.13416694 (Winnipeg)
Portage la Prairie	MB	49°58′37.9″N 98°17′17.2″W / 49.977194°N 98.288111°W / 49.977194; -98.288111 (Portage la Prairie)
Gladstone	MB	50°13′31.1″N 98°56′53.9″W / 50.225306°N 98.948306°W / 50.225306; -98.948306 (Gladstone)
Plumas	MB	50°23′4.6″N 99°5′22.9″W / 50.384611°N 99.089694°W / 50.384611; -99.089694 (Plumas)
Glenella	MB	50°33′23.8″N 99°11′46.0″W / 50.556611°N 99.196111°W / 50.556611; -99.196111 (Glenella)
McCreary	MB	50°46′24.6″N 99°29′22.9″W / 50.773500°N 99.489694°W / 50.773500; -99.489694 (McCreary)
Laurier	MB	50°53′17.2″N 99°33′38.9″W / 50.888111°N 99.560806°W / 50.888111; -99.560806 (Laurier)
Ochre River	MB	51°3′37.1″N 99°46′47.6″W / 51.060306°N 99.779889°W / 51.060306; -99.779889 (Ochre River)
Dauphin	MB	51°9′2.2″N 100°3′6.5″W / 51.150611°N 100.051806°W / 51.150611; -100.051806 (Dauphin)
Gilbert Plains	MB	51°8′52.1″N 100°29′13.2″W / 51.147806°N 100.487000°W / 51.147806; -100.487000 (Gilbert Plains)
Grandview	MB	51°10′17.8″N 100°41′55.7″W / 51.171611°N 100.698806°W / 51.171611; -100.698806 (Grandview)
Roblin	MB	51°13′48.4″N 101°21′7.9″W / 51.230111°N 101.352194°W / 51.230111; -101.352194 (Roblin)
Togo	SK	51°24′26″N 101°35′25″W / 51.40722°N 101.59028°W / 51.40722; -101.59028 (Togo)
Kamsack	SK	51°33′28″N 101°54′7″W / 51.55778°N 101.90194°W / 51.55778; -101.90194 (Kamsack)
Veregin	SK	51°34′41.2″N 102°4′40.4″W / 51.578111°N 102.077889°W / 51.578111; -102.077889 (Veregin)
Mikado	SK	51°36′31″N 102°16′16″W / 51.60861°N 102.27111°W / 51.60861; -102.27111 (Mikado)
Canora	SK	51°38′15″N 102°26′13″W / 51.63750°N 102.43694°W / 51.63750; -102.43694 (Canora)
Sturgis	SK	51°56′26″N 102°32′38″W / 51.94056°N 102.54389°W / 51.94056; -102.54389 (Sturgis)
Endeavour, Saskatchewan	SK	52°9′38″N 102°39′29″W / 52.16056°N 102.65806°W / 52.16056; -102.65806 (Endeavour)
Reserve	SK	52°28′0″N 102°39′4″W / 52.46667°N 102.65111°W / 52.46667; -102.65111 (Reserve)
Hudson Bay	SK	52°51′46.80″N 102°23′48.05″W / 52.8630000°N 102.3966806°W / 52.8630000; -102.3966806 (Hudson Bay)
The Pas	MB	53°49′26.4″N 101°14′51.0″W / 53.824000°N 101.247500°W / 53.824000; -101.247500 (The Pas)
Tremaudan	MB	53°54′32.0″N 101°10′16.0″W / 53.908889°N 101.171111°W / 53.908889; -101.171111 (Tremaudan)
Orok	MB	53°57′28.1″N 101°3′25.9″W / 53.957806°N 101.057194°W / 53.957806; -101.057194 (Orok)
Dering	MB	54°15′15.1″N 100°31′59.9″W / 54.254194°N 100.533306°W / 54.254194; -100.533306 (Dering)
Finger	MB	54°0′24.8″N 100°52′26.0″W / 54.006889°N 100.873889°W / 54.006889; -100.873889 (Finger)
Budd	MB	54°2′55.7″N 100°48′18.4″W / 54.048806°N 100.805111°W / 54.048806; -100.805111 (Budd)
Halcrow	MB	54°10′37.9″N 100°37′28.9″W / 54.177194°N 100.624694°W / 54.177194; -100.624694 (Halcrow)
Cormorant	MB	54°13′26.0″N 100°36′1.1″W / 54.223889°N 100.600306°W / 54.223889; -100.600306 (Cormorant)
Dering	MB	54°15′15.1″N 100°31′59.9″W / 54.254194°N 100.533306°W / 54.254194; -100.533306 (Dering)
Rawebb	MB	54°18′25.9″N 100°19′12.0″W / 54.307194°N 100.320000°W / 54.307194; -100.320000 (Rawebb)
Dyce	MB	54°22′3.0″N 100°9′24.1″W / 54.367500°N 100.156694°W / 54.367500; -100.156694 (Dyce)
Paterson	MB	54°25′35.0″N 99°59′43.1″W / 54.426389°N 99.995306°W / 54.426389; -99.995306 (Paterson)
Wekusko	MB	54°30′11.9″N 99°45′4.0″W / 54.503306°N 99.751111°W / 54.503306; -99.751111 (Wekusko)
Turnbull	MB	54°33′58.0″N 99°28′36.8″W / 54.566111°N 99.476889°W / 54.566111; -99.476889 (Turnbull)
Ponton	MB	54°38′35.9″N 99°9′32.0″W / 54.643306°N 99.158889°W / 54.643306; -99.158889 (Ponton)
Button	MB	54°40′44.0″N 98°59′40.9″W / 54.678889°N 98.994694°W / 54.678889; -98.994694 (Button)
Dunlop	MB	54°44′39.1″N 98°51′42.8″W / 54.744194°N 98.861889°W / 54.744194; -98.861889 (Dunlop)
Pipun	MB	54°50′19.0″N 98°45′13.0″W / 54.838611°N 98.753611°W / 54.838611; -98.753611 (Pipun)
Wabowden	MB	54°54′32.0″N 98°37′46.9″W / 54.908889°N 98.629694°W / 54.908889; -98.629694 (Wabowden)
Lyddal	MB	55°1′45.8″N 98°24′52.9″W / 55.029389°N 98.414694°W / 55.029389; -98.414694 (Lyddal)
Odhill	MB	55°6′27.0″N 98°13′30.0″W / 55.107500°N 98.225000°W / 55.107500; -98.225000 (Odhill)
Earchman	MB	55°9′24.1″N 98°6′31.0″W / 55.156694°N 98.108611°W / 55.156694; -98.108611 (Earchman)
La Perouse	MB	56°24′34.9″N 94°31′49.1″W / 56.409694°N 94.530306°W / 56.409694; -94.530306 (La Perouse)
Hockin	MB	55°16′35.0″N 97°49′50.2″W / 55.276389°N 97.830611°W / 55.276389; -97.830611 (Hockin)
Thicket Portage	MB	55°19′5.2″N 97°41′12.8″W / 55.318111°N 97.686889°W / 55.318111; -97.686889 (Thicket Portage)
Leven	MB	55°22′50.9″N 97°32′31.9″W / 55.380806°N 97.542194°W / 55.380806; -97.542194 (Leven)
Thompson	MB	55°44′26.2″N 97°49′47.3″W / 55.740611°N 97.829806°W / 55.740611; -97.829806 (Thompson)
Sipiwesk	MB	55°27′20.2″N 97°24′25.9″W / 55.455611°N 97.407194°W / 55.455611; -97.407194 (Sipiwesk)
Pikwitonei	MB	55°35′16.1″N 97°9′20.2″W / 55.587806°N 97.155611°W / 55.587806; -97.155611 (Pikwitonei)
Bridgar	MB	55°38′12.8″N 97°3′42.1″W / 55.636889°N 97.061694°W / 55.636889; -97.061694 (Bridgar)
Wilde	MB	55°43′35.0″N 96°48′46.1″W / 55.726389°N 96.812806°W / 55.726389; -96.812806 (Wilde)
Arnot	MB	55°46′1.9″N 96°41′4.9″W / 55.767194°N 96.684694°W / 55.767194; -96.684694 (Arnot)
Boyd	MB	55°52′40.1″N 96°28′21.0″W / 55.877806°N 96.472500°W / 55.877806; -96.472500 (Boyd)
Pit Siding	MB	55°54′33.8″N 96°19′3.0″W / 55.909389°N 96.317500°W / 55.909389; -96.317500 (Pit Siding)
Munk	MB	55°58′44.0″N 95°59′34.1″W / 55.978889°N 95.992806°W / 55.978889; -95.992806 (Munk)
Ilford	MB	56°3′52.9″N 95°36′24.8″W / 56.064694°N 95.606889°W / 56.064694; -95.606889 (Ilford)
Nonsuch	MB	56°7′35.0″N 95°22′37.9″W / 56.126389°N 95.377194°W / 56.126389; -95.377194 (Nonsuch)
Wivenhoe	MB	56°10′35.0″N 95°12′46.1″W / 56.176389°N 95.212806°W / 56.176389; -95.212806 (Wivenhoe)
Luke	MB	56°17′44.9″N 94°51′16.9″W / 56.295806°N 94.854694°W / 56.295806; -94.854694 (Luke)
Gillam	MB	56°20′49.9″N 94°42′28.1″W / 56.347194°N 94.707806°W / 56.347194; -94.707806 (Gillam)
Bird	MB	56°30′13.0″N 94°12′38.2″W / 56.503611°N 94.210611°W / 56.503611; -94.210611 (Bird)
Amery	MB	56°33′54.0″N 94°3′45.0″W / 56.565000°N 94.062500°W / 56.565000; -94.062500 (Amery)
Weir River	MB	56°49′4.1″N 94°5′33.0″W / 56.817806°N 94.092500°W / 56.817806; -94.092500 (Weir River)
Thibaudeau	MB	57°4′26.0″N 94°8′40.9″W / 57.073889°N 94.144694°W / 57.073889; -94.144694 (Thibaudeau)
Herchmer	MB	57°22′18.8″N 94°11′13.9″W / 57.371889°N 94.187194°W / 57.371889; -94.187194 (Herchmer)
O'Day	MB	57°34′39.0″N 94°12′14.0″W / 57.577500°N 94.203889°W / 57.577500; -94.203889 (O'Day)
M'Clintock	MB	57°48′6.1″N 94°12′49.0″W / 57.801694°N 94.213611°W / 57.801694; -94.213611 (M'Clintock)
Tidal	MB	58°39′47.2″N 94°7′13.1″W / 58.663111°N 94.120306°W / 58.663111; -94.120306 (Tidal)
Churchill	MB	58°46′4.1″N 94°10′27.5″W / 58.767806°N 94.174306°W / 58.767806; -94.174306 (Churchill)

References

^ ^a ^b "Annual Report 2019" (PDF). viarail.ca. Via Rail Canada. p. 9. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
^ ^a ^b "VIA Rail Canada - Northern Trains". Archived from the original on 2000-10-17.
^ "Hudson Bay Rail to end service from Lynn Lake, Man., to Pukatawagan reserve". Canadian Press. 8 December 2003.
^ "The Adventure Routes".
^ "Via Rail service between Churchill and Gillam suspended indefinitely due to closure of the railway infrastructure in northern Manitoba". VIA Rail Canada Inc. (Press release). CNW. 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
^ Hoye, Bryce (January 18, 2019). "Return of train to Churchill raised spirits — but mayor says fuel, food costs remain high". CBC News.
^ "Company fixing Churchill rail line says repairs will be complete in 60 days | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
^ "'We are free:' Churchill celebrates return of train service with prime minister". Edmonton Journal. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
^ "'It's very exciting': First rail tourists in 560 days depart for Churchill, Man". CBC News. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-05.

External links

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

Media related to Winnipeg – Churchill train at Wikimedia Commons
Winnipeg-Churchill train at Via Rail Canada

External videos
"48hrs on VIA Rail's Most Northern Train in Canada" on YouTube, DownieLive, 2020-11-28

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