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53-656: Streetcar and interurban services were inaugurated in southwestern British Columbia between 1890 and 1891, operated by the following companies: With the global depression in the 1890s, all three companies went into receivership, and were amalgamated in 1895 into the Consolidated Railway and Light Company. The newly founded company was forced into receivership again after a streetcar accident in Victoria (the Point Ellice Bridge Disaster ) resulted in 55 deaths, and

106-515: A BCER Streetcar train collided with a flatbed truck carrying lumber at Lakeview Train Station, 14 people were killed and 9 people were injured. Point Ellice Bridge Disaster On May 26, 1896, in Victoria, British Columbia , a streetcar crowded with 143 holidaymakers on their way to attend celebrations of Queen Victoria 's birthday crashed through Point Ellice Bridge (today usually referred to as

159-589: A grass strip, and was used as a military training airfield. During the early part of World War II (1940–1941), the airfield was used as Royal Air Force Station Patricia Bay , providing basic flight training for Royal Air Force pilots preparatory to returning them to the UK. In approximately 1942 the aerodrome became a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) installation listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Patricia Bay, British Columbia at 48°39′N 123°26′W  /  48.650°N 123.433°W  / 48.650; -123.433 with

212-621: A statutory right-of-way to use this section of the corridor in perpetuity, but put agreements in place to retain partial running rights for passenger service, which were renewed in 2009. While there has been a number proposals regarding the restart of a commuter passenger rail service along the line, a review was conducted by the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure in 2010. The review noted issues around high cost per ride and low projected ridership relative to bus alternatives. Subsequently, TransLink conducted

265-657: A study as part of the 2010–2012 Surrey Rapid Transit Study to explore merits of utilizing the Interurban corridor for fast, frequent, and reliable rapid transit service. The interurban corridor was not selected, nor recommended for further consideration because the corridor does not directly connect relevant regional destinations of Surrey Central and Langley City, resulted in less attractive travel times between key destinations, and would require significant capital investments to meet safety requirements and reliability objectives compared to alternatives. In particular, TransLink noted that

318-420: A variation of 24 degrees east and elevation of 25 ft (7.6 m). The aerodrome was listed with three runways as follows: The airport is located beside Patricia Bay , which, due to the prevalence of flying boats at the time, proved to be an excellent location. The Department of Transport took over the airport in 1948. It was then called Victoria (Patricia Bay) Airport, and many locals still refer to it as

371-589: Is 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) north northwest of Victoria on the Saanich Peninsula , with the bulk of the airport (including the passenger terminal) in North Saanich , and a small portion of the airfield extending into Sidney . The airport is run by the Victoria Airport Authority. YYJ has many nonstop daily flights to Vancouver International Airport (YVR, about 15 minutes), which

424-480: Is a major airport serving many global routes. Additionally, Victoria International has nonstop service to Seattle (SEA), Toronto (YYZ), Montreal (YUL, summer only), Calgary (YYC), Edmonton (YEG), and several smaller cities in British Columbia and Yukon . The airport also has seasonal (late fall to early spring) nonstop service to several Mexican resort destinations. Non-stop service between Victoria and

477-551: Is also home to Arundel Castle , the operating base for 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force . Like most airports that are run by local authorities in Canada, YYJ charges an airport improvement fee for each outgoing passenger. As of April 2024, it was $ 25.00 per departing passenger. AIF fees are usually added to fares and collected automatically by most airlines. The airport started in 1939 as

530-660: Is double that of a possible bus rapid transit line or a Skytrain route along the Fraser Highway. Finally, TransLink has indicated that freight traffic along the line is expected to increase along the corridor, due to increased traffic at the Port of Metro Vancouver , in particular the Roberts Bank Superport . After the decommission of the BCER streetcar and interurban system, most of the cars were either scrapped or burned underneath

583-500: The Burrard Bridge , but some cars were sold for various other uses such as becoming bunkhouses, storage sheds and in some cases decor. A handful of cars were also donated to various museums mostly in the U.S. Since then however, many preservation societies have bought back the cars and begun restoring them. The following is a list of the known BCER cars in existence and their current locations (as of January 2016). On November 10, 1909,

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636-698: The Canadian Pacific Railway station at Ruskin . The route of the Stave Falls Branch along Hayward Lake is also now a walking trail managed by BC Hydro and the District of Mission, with sections of it south of Ruskin Dam used as local powerline and neighbourhood walking trails. Port Moody–Coquitlam The Port Moody-Coquitlam Railway connected the Port Moody – Ioco spur of the Canadian Pacific Railway to

689-774: The Coquitlam Dam in order to haul supplies and materials to the dam. Alouette Lake Similar to the Stave Lake and Port Moody-Coquitlam lines, the Alouette Lake dam tracks connected power facilities to the CPR that ran on the north side of the Fraser River at Kanaka Creek in Haney . Jordan River This 5.3-mile railway connected the powerhouse and harbour at the mouth of the Jordan River to

742-590: The Jordan River Dam . BCER ended streetcar service in New Westminster on December 5, 1938. The company then announced its "Rails-to-Rubber" conversion programme on September 30, 1944, with North Vancouver's last streetcar service and two of Vancouver's streetcar lines ending in April 1947, and Victoria's streetcar service ending on July 4, 1948. In Vancouver, many streetcar lines were converted to trolley buses , with

795-657: The Southern Railway of British Columbia . This line made use of the New Westminster Bridge , opened in 1904. Burnaby Lake Line The Burnaby Lake line's right-of-way is largely taken up by the Trans-Canada Highway , but sections of it survive as walking and biking trails. Central Park Line Following the cessation of interurban services on the Central Park Line, the right-of-way remained under

848-421: The "Pat Bay Airport". Trans-Canada Airlines (later Air Canada ) began regular service in 1943. In 1959, the airport was renamed the "Victoria International Airport". The last RCAF unit left the airport in 1952. In July 1989, Canadian Forces Air Command returned to Victoria International Airport when HS 443 Squadron , which operated CH-124 Sea King ship-borne anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters,

901-572: The 'Railway Bridge' across the north arm of the Fraser River are still in operation today, as part of the Southern Railway of British Columbia . New Westminster – Fraser Mills Opened in 1912, construction of ramps leading to and from the new Pattullo Bridge resulted in the closure of the Queensborough and Fraser Mills lines in 1937, as well as the truncation of the Burnaby Lake line to Sapperton . Victoria – Deep Bay Now called Deep Cove,

954-515: The 14 Hastings East , ran on April 22, 1955. The Marpole-New Westminster interurban line was closed in 1956, followed by the Marpole-Steveston line on February 28, 1958, marking the complete closure of the interurban system. In 1961, the provincial government took over BC Electric, with the railway becoming a division of Crown corporation BC Hydro . In August 1988, BC Hydro sold their freight division which included rolling stock and rails and

1007-571: The 21st century is to provide ASW and logistical support for the Royal Canadian Navy . As of 2022, 443 Squadron is responsible for all Canadian west coast operations of the CH-148 Cyclone helicopter. In July 2016, Westjet Airlines announced that they would be permanently ending service to Honolulu from Victoria. The non-stop route had started in 2009 and had ended due to the lack of demand. In September 2018, United Airlines announced that

1060-542: The 26th a day never to be forgotten, when I believed for a while that I have lost my darling child but by gods’ miracle she was spared. " A letter to Kathleen O'Reilly from Harry Stanhope discusses how the London papers had reported of a death of an O'Reilly, though this was later retracted. On June 12, 1896, a coroner's jury concluded that the tramway operator, the Consolidated Electric Railway Company,

1113-623: The Bay Street Bridge) into the Upper Harbour . 55 people were killed in the accident, making it one of the worst transit disasters in British Columbia . Only passengers on the left side of the streetcar escaped. The Consolidated Electric Railway Company was forced into receivership by the disaster and emerged reorganized as the British Columbia Electric Railway on April 15, 1897. On May 26, 1896, just before 2:00 pm

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1166-516: The Consolidated Electric Railway Company's No. 16 street car passed over the Point Ellice Bridge. It was overburdened with 143 passengers on their way to view the naval battles that were occurring in Esquimalt in celebration of Queen Victoria's birthday. Due to lacking safety standards, poor bridge maintenance, and the overcrowded street car, the bridge collapsed causing the streetcar to crash into

1219-726: The Point Ellice Bridge, were named for Edward Ellice who joined the NWC in 1805 and was largely responsible for its decision to merge with the HBC . He went on to a political career in England and was deputy governor of the HBC from 1858 to 1863. 48°26′3.32″N 123°22′41.14″W  /  48.4342556°N 123.3780944°W  / 48.4342556; -123.3780944 Victoria International Airport Victoria International Airport ( IATA : YYJ , ICAO : CYYJ ) serves Victoria, British Columbia , Canada. It

1272-585: The United States decreased by 50% at the beginning of September 2019 when Delta Airlines permanently ended its three daily flights to Seattle, after which only Alaska Airlines continued to fly the route. Victoria International Airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). CBSA officers at this airport can handle aircraft with no more than 450 passengers, when unloaded from

1325-434: The Victoria Airport Authority began the process of renovating and expanding the terminal to meet passenger needs. In 2002, the new airside hold room and the new arrivals rotunda were rebuilt. By 2005, the new departures area was completed. In May 2005, the federal government, which owns the land, announced a reduction in the rent paid by the Victoria Airport Authority. This will save $ 0.6 million each year and $ 12 million over

1378-511: The Victoria to Deep Cove line (1913), was one of three passenger railways to serve the Saanich Peninsula , and was closed on November 1, 1924, due to low ridership. The Victoria-Deep Cove interurban's alignment can be traced by Burnside Road, Interurban Road and the Interurban Rail Trail, West Saanich Road, Wallace Drive, Aldous Terrace, Mainwaring Road, one of Victoria International Airport 's runways, and Tatlow Road to Deep Cove. Besides

1431-427: The ability to grant operating rights to others, including to providers of passenger rail service, that do not materially interfere with Southern Railway of British Columbia's operations. In addition, BC Hydro in 1988 also sold the track assets of a section between Cloverdale from Pratt Junction through Langley City and beyond to CP Rail , but retained ownership of the right-of-way. At the time, BC Hydro also granted CPR

1484-500: The afternoon, and by evening the greater number of bodies had been recovered, although it is practically certain that yet others are still to be removed from the fatal waters." Many of homeowners who owned property at Point Ellice are recorded as having seen or heard the collapse and jumped into action to aid in rescue efforts. The daughters of Mr. Justice Drake of the Tyrwhitt-Drake residence are credited with pulling seven people from

1537-467: The aircraft in stages, or 120 normally. YYJ does not have United States customs and border preclearance, but many passengers fly first to Vancouver International Airport (YVR), which does have U.S. preclearance. In 2023, YYJ served 1,740,107 passengers and had 108,034 aircraft movements, making it Canada's 11th busiest airport in terms of passengers. It was British Columbia's third busiest airport in terms of passengers and aircraft movements. The airport

1590-406: The airport. Passengers using BC Transit can connect with intercity bus service in Victoria. By car, the airport is normally a 20-minute drive from downtown Victoria (with little or no traffic, and a 40-minute drive with traffic) via Highway 17 . The airport has short term and long term/daily parking lots next to the terminal with an additional overflow lot. Rental lot is located to the southwest of

1643-523: The bridge was also found to have been poor, especially in that the specifications called for weldless iron to be used, but the ironwork was almost all welded. The Point Ellice Bridge connects the two halves of Bay Street between Victoria and Victoria West and spans the Upper Harbour at the same location today. It marks where the Upper Harbour ends and the Selkirk Water begins. Point Ellice, and

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1696-588: The control of BC Hydro . By 1975, the Greater Vancouver Regional District proposed incorporating the right-of-way into a light rail line linking Vancouver and New Westminster, thereby reinstating passenger rail service on the corridor. The provincial government eventually took over the project, which evolved into the Vancouver SkyTrain 's Expo Line . New Westminster–Queensborough The tracks from New Westminster to Queensborough and

1749-463: The corridor as a transportation/greenway public thoroughfare to prevent other types of development from taking place along the right-of-way. Marpole–Steveston (Lulu Island Branch) The Steveston line's alignment on Lulu Island can be traced by Railway Avenue, Granville Avenue, Garden City Road, and Great Canadian Way. After the end of passenger service in 1958 the Granville and Garden City section of

1802-667: The customs area. As of December 1, 2010, time limited, ad supported Wi-Fi internet service provided by Telus is available terminal wide. Most commercial flights at Victoria fly either to airports in nearby British Columbia and Alberta or to western Washington . Seasonal scheduled flights by WestJet connect Victoria to tourist destinations in Mexico and Las Vegas . For the Summer 2017 season, Air Canada Rouge operated wide-body Boeing 767s on its daily flights to Toronto . The Victoria International Airport Master Plan 2023-2024 lays out

1855-407: The daily United Express flight from Victoria to San Francisco would permanently end on January 7, 2019, concluding over a decade of daily non-stop service between the two cities. In March 2019, Delta Air Lines announced that all Delta flights from Victoria to Seattle would permanently end on September 2, 2019, concluding a three-year presence by the airline in Victoria and leaving Alaska Airlines as

1908-636: The first route of BCER's Vancouver trolley bus system opening on 16 August 1948. The Chilliwack line ceased service in 1950, followed by the Vancouver-Marpole line in 1952 and the Burnaby Lake line in 1953. The stretch of the Central Park line in Burnaby and New Westminster was closed on October 23, 1953, followed by the rest of the line through Vancouver on July 16, 1954. The last streetcar line in Vancouver,

1961-618: The life of the lease, which is 50 years. In 2015, 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron moved into a new $ 155 million heliport at the airport, which the RCAF titled Arundel Castle after the major landmark of that name in West Sussex , the English county where the unit operated when it was a fighter squadron flying the Supermarine Spitfire during World War II. The main mission of 443 Squadron in

2014-518: The line from Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and electrifying it. The Vancouver-Marpole line's right-of-way (whose northern section runs beside Arbutus Street) remained under the ownership of the CPR, which continued running freight trains on the corridor until June 2001. With the end of freight operations on the line in sight, Vancouver City Council adopted the Arbutus Corridor Official Development Plan in 2000, designating

2067-563: The line was relocated largely parallel to River Road north of Westminster Highway. Marpole–New Westminster Interurban service between Marpole and New Westminster along the North Arm of the Fraser River was started in 1909. Still in operation today, as part of the Southern Railway of British Columbia . New Westminster–Chilliwack (Fraser Valley Branch) Opened October 4, 1910 (also used by freight) and still in operation today, as part of

2120-410: The long-term development and future plans of the airport. The Master Plan highlights future infrastructure growth for the airport in two phases, 2023-2032 and 2033-2042. There are several organisations that offer flight training at the airport: Victoria International Airport is 22 km from downtown Victoria . It is served by taxi (Yellow Cab). BC Transit routes 87 and 88 make connections to

2173-510: The number of dead rose to 55. Men, women, and children from Port Townsend, Seattle, Tacoma, Victoria, and Vancouver were among the deceased. According to a diary entry written by Peter O'Reilly nearly one year after the bridge disaster he remarks on how he believed that his eldest daughter Kathleen was on the bridge when it collapsed: "Yesterday the Queen’s birthday was kept, but very quietly – no regatta, no racing, no nothing – I believe…Tomorrow

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2226-539: The only airline serving Victoria directly from Seattle or anywhere in the United States. Delta was the second airline to leave Victoria that year, after United Airlines withdrew service in January 2019. The main terminal has ten gates, organized as gates 3–4, 5–11, and 12–13. Gates 3-4 and 12-13 are equipped with aircraft loading bridges. There are three luggage carousels: two located at the arrivals area for domestic passengers, and one for international flights located inside

2279-446: The rights to run freight trains through Fraser Valley Subdivision, not the corridor, to a company known as Itel of Chicago who resold it to a new shortline operator and the railway is now known as the Southern Railway of British Columbia and is exclusively a freight railway. At the time, BC Hydro did not specifically reserve rights to operate passenger rail service using Southern Railway of British Columbia's facilities, but did retain

2332-667: The routing of the interurban line does not directly connect to the largest regional centre in the South of Fraser – Surrey Metro Centre – which is expected to be the focus of future population and employment growth, and the current alignment is indirect and through lower density and diverse areas, with a low ridership catchment near potential stations. Also, TransLink estimated that the interurban estimated travel times are not competitive with rapid transit along Fraser Highway or King George Boulevard , with transit times estimated to be around 63 minutes to travel between Langley and Surrey Central, which

2385-597: The stretch through the airport, the stretch at the Experimental Farm (now called the Sidney/Centre for Plant Health) has also been blocked. Stave Lake A 6-mile (9.7 km) steam train branch line, the Stave Falls Branch , (constructed during the building of the original Stave Falls hydroelectric plant) was isolated from the main interurban network, and linked the power plant and community at Stave Falls to

2438-497: The terminal building. A interchange at Highway 17 and McTavish Road, the main highway access point to the airport, was completed in April 2011. Funding for the interchange was shared between the federal, provincial governments and Victoria Airport Authority. Victoria International Airport Fire and Rescue operates three crash tenders and one support vehicle to deal with emergencies at the airport. The current station (Airport Fire Service and Airport Operations) opened in 2010 to replace

2491-476: The water, many bystanders leapt into action. According to the Daily Colonist on May 27, the day after the collapse: "The hour was not without its heroes who were quick to think and act, and to these heroes, women and men, the salvation of many lives from the waters is due, as well as the winning back from death of many who had to all appearances passed into the shadowland. The work of rescuers lasted through all

2544-413: The water. The 143 occupants of the street car, as well as two other horse-led vehicles and a gentleman on a bicycle who was crossing the bridge at the same time, fell into the water. The register that recorded trolley fares had recorded that 98 fares had been collected, however it is believed that the conductor had not finished collecting fares when the collapse occurred. Seeing the streetcar plunge into

2597-576: The water. The Grant residence at 304 Bay street was used a primary area for recovering both the living and dead. The dead were laid out on the lawn, and the living were taken into the drawing room where Mrs. Grant had worked quickly to turn it into an infirmary. Other neighbours are recorded as having brought: "blankets, brandy and other restoratives." The Daily Colonist remarked: "It was wonderful how coolly and energetically men and women worked. Class distinctions and all were forgotten. Delicate ladies whom one might expect to shrink from scenes of horror aided

2650-399: The work of resuscitating the unfortunate victims as one by one they were brought ashore and laid on the lawns of Capt. Grant's house. It was an awful sight as one motionless form after another was brought up on the steep back and placed upon the grass." On the day of the collapse 47 people were recorded as having died, but as the debris of the streetcar was removed and search efforts continued

2703-519: Was relocated from CFB Shearwater to better support Canadian Forces Maritime Command operations in the Pacific. In 1995, the squadron was redesignated as 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron. In 1997, as part of a broad scale restructuring of airports across Canada, Transport Canada (formerly the Department of Transport), gave operational control of the airport to the Victoria Airport Authority. In 2000,

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2756-626: Was reorganized as the British Columbia Electric Railway Company Limited in April 1897. Power was supplied by then-innovative diversion projects at Buntzen Lake and on the Stave River system farther east, all of which were built primarily to supply power for the interurbans and street railway . Vancouver–Marpole BCER began the Vancouver- Steveston interurban and freight service in 1905 after leasing

2809-421: Was responsible for the disaster because it allowed its streetcar to be loaded with a much greater weight of passengers than the bridge was designed to support. The city council of Victoria was found to be guilty of contributory negligence because the bridge had not been well maintained, and because council failed to take steps to restrict the traffic on the bridge to within safe limits. The design and construction of

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