BC Rail

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British Columbia Railway Company

BC Rail
Overview
Parent company	BC Transportation Financing Authority (Government of British Columbia)
Headquarters	North Vancouver, British Columbia
Reporting mark	BCOL, BCIT (formerly PGE)
Locale	British Columbia
Dates of operation	February 27, 1912 (1912-02-27)–present
Successor	Canadian National Railway (under operating lease)
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	1984 (Tumbler Ridge Subdivision)
Length	2,320 km (1,440 mi)
Other
Website	https://www.bcrco.com/

v t e Pacific Great Eastern Railway
Legend
mile altitude in feet 466 Prince George 1,400 425 Strathnaver 1,862 409 Abhau 2,300 384 Quesnel 1,500 363 Australian 1,852 358 Alexandria 2,000 314 Williams Lake 1,900 273 Lac La Hache 2,700 252 Canim Lake 3,400 246 Lone Butte 3,700 236 Flying U 3,700 214 Chasm 3,500 203 Clinton 3,152 196 Kelly Lake 3,500 176 Pavilion 2,100 173 Glen Fraser 1,400 157 Lillooet 800 154 Craig Lodge 800 142 Shalalth 800 Seton Lake Tunnel 1⁄4 mile (0.4 km) long 138 Seton Portage 800 130 Marne 800 123 D'Arcy 800 120 Devine 900 116 Birken 1,500 104 Spetch 1,000 99 Mount Currie 700 94 Pemberton 700 79 Parkhurst 2,200 74 Alta Lake (Whistler) 2,100 59 Garibaldi 1,100 46 Cheekye 200 44 Brackendale 40 39 Squamish 2 31 Britannia Beach 2 26 Porteau 2 11 Horseshoe Bay 100 Horseshoe Bay Tunnel 4,568 ft (1,392 m) long 5 Caulfeild 50 2 Ambleside 1 0 North Vancouver Pemberton Avenue 2

The British Columbia Railway Company (reporting mark BCOL, BCIT), commonly known as BC Rail, is a railway in the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Chartered as a private company in 1912 as the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE), it was acquired by the provincial government in 1918. In 1972 it was renamed to the British Columbia Railway, and in 1984 it took on the BC Rail branding. From 1978 to 2000, BC Rail was highly profitable, posting profits in every year throughout that period.^[1]

Until 2004 it operated as the third-largest railway in Canada, providing freight, passenger, and excursion rail services throughout BC on 2,320 km (1,440 mi) of mainline track. It also ran the Royal Hudson services, as well as the premier of British Columbia's private train.

It was designated a Class II Railway until 2004. In 2004, the freight operations (including a vast amount of land, buildings, and all rolling stock) of BC Rail were leased to Canadian National Railway (CN) for an initial period of 60 years, with the exception of the Deltaport Spur, for the price of $550 million.^[2]

BC Rail remains an operating Crown corporation today. It retains ownership of the entire rail bed stretching from Prince George to North Vancouver, as well as ownership of all assets leased to CN.^[3] BC Rail retains significant real estate investments throughout BC, and a 40 km (25 mi) stretch of track from Roberts Bank Superport in Delta to Langley.^[3] The planned sale of this 40 km (25 mi) stretch was cancelled after the initial BC Rail scandal.