126-540: The Super Continental was a transcontinental Canadian passenger train operated by the Canadian National Railway from 1955 until 1977, when Via Rail took over the train and ran it until it was cancelled in 1981. Service was restored in 1985 but was again eliminated in 1990. The original CN train had a Montreal – Ottawa – Toronto - Winnipeg – Saskatoon – Edmonton – Jasper – Vancouver routing with daily service. Following World War II , CN's passenger fleet
252-431: A dining car or restaurant car to allow passengers to have a meal during the course of their journey. Trains travelling overnight may also have sleeping cars . Currently, much of travel on these distances of over 500 miles (800 km) is done by air in many countries but in others long-distance travel by rail is a popular or the only cheap way to travel long distances. One notable and growing long-distance train category
378-543: A 20-year effort to convert its entire 516 km (321 mi) section of the Trans-Canada Highway into a four-lane limited-access divided highway. The highway has a speed limit of 110 km/h (68 mph) on most of its sections in New Brunswick. New Brunswick was the first province where the main route of the Trans-Canada Highway was made entirely into a four-lane limited-access divided highway. From Moncton,
504-455: A 75-kilometre (47 mi) section from Whitbourne to St. John's are divided. Although there does not appear to be any nationally-sanctioned "starting point" for the entire Trans-Canada Highway system, St. John's has adopted this designation for the section of highway running in the city. The foot of East White Hills Road in St. John's, near Logy Bay Road , would be a more precise starting point of
630-572: A fixed schedule and have priority over freight trains . Passenger trains may be made up of a number of passenger cars hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be made up of self-propelled railcars . Car design and the general safety of passenger trains have dramatically evolved over time, making travel by rail remarkably safe. Some passenger trains, both long-distance and short-distance, use bi-level (double-decker) cars to carry more passengers per train. Passenger trains hauled by locomotives are more expensive to operate than multiple units, but have
756-455: A four-lane divided highway . Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba have widened most of their southern Trans-Canada Highway network to four lanes. In Quebec, most sections of the TCH network overlap with the province's Autoroute freeways. New Brunswick is the only province to have its whole length of the main Trans-Canada Highway route at a four-lane freeway standard. Like the former U.S. Route 66 ,
882-801: A freeway and proceeds 206 km (128 mi) east to Montreal , as Highway 417 in Ontario (and the Queensway in Ottawa) and Autoroute 40 in Quebec. The Trans-Canada assumes the name Autoroute Métropolitaine (also known as "The Met" or "Metropolitan Boulevard") as it traverses Montreal as an elevated freeway. At the Laurentian interchange, in Montreal, the Abitibi route (Highway 66, Route 117, A-15) rejoins
1008-591: A higher passenger capacity. Many prestigious passenger train services have been bestowed a special name , some of which have become famous in literature and fiction. The first occasion on which a railway locomotive pulled a train carrying passengers was in the United Kingdom in 1804, at Penydarren Ironworks in Wales , when 70 employees of the ironworks were transported 9 miles by an engine designed by Richard Trevithick . The first passenger train in regular service
1134-465: A junction just south of Rivière-du-Loup , 173 km (107 mi) northeast of Lévis . At that junction, the highway turns southeast and changes designation to Autoroute 85 for 43 km (27 mi), and then downgrades from a freeway to Route 185 , a non-Autoroute (not limited-access) standard highway until Saint-Louis-du-Ha! Ha! , where Autoroute 85 resumes once again. The portion from Autoroute 20 to Edmundston , New Brunswick,
1260-606: A large order for new lightweight equipment . This order consisted of 218 coaches from the Canadian Car and Foundry in Montreal, as well as 92 sleeping cars , 20 dining cars , 17 parlour cars, and 12 buffet-sleepers from the Chicago-based Pullman-Standard Company . Deliveries of the new cars were essentially completed by 1954, but CN waited until April 24, 1955, to introduce its new transcontinental flagship Super Continental to replace its former flagship,
1386-461: A location 90 miles (140 km) north of Kamloops, British Columbia . The head-end crew sustained minor injuries, but all 243 passengers were reported as uninjured. An eastbound freight train and the westbound Super Continental collided at around 2:30 am on September 28, 1974, at a location about 105 miles (169 km) north of Kamloops. Initial reports indicated the accident may have been caused by an "automatic switching malfunction" that put
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#17328444450021512-467: A massive fireball that sped along the train's length; both trains buckled from the impact. Initial reports stated that at least 29 people died in the accident, although this was later reduced to 26, then later 23. making it one of the more deadly incidents in Canadian railway history. Subsequent investigation showed that the freight train passed a stop signal and ran through a closed switch to pull in front of
1638-463: A maximum of 90 km/h (56 mph) in rural areas. The Trans-Canada Highway through the three prairie provinces is 1,667 km (1,036 mi) long. It starts at the border with British Columbia at Kicking Horse Pass, and runs all the way to the Ontario border at Whiteshell. The highway continues through Alberta, running east for 206 km (128 mi) as Alberta Highway 1 to Lake Louise , Banff , Canmore , and Calgary . This section of
1764-465: A province (especially in Ontario and Quebec) as the TCH piggybacks along separate provincial highways (which often continue as non-TCH routes outside the designated sections) en route. In addition, Ontario and Quebec use standard provincial highway shields to number the highway within their boundaries, but post numberless Trans-Canada Highway shields alongside them to identify it. As the Trans-Canada route
1890-621: A signalized four-lane arterial road for short stretches in Salmon Arm , Revelstoke , and Golden , but has no signal lights on it for most of its length. The highway crosses two high passes along its route: Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park , and Kicking Horse Pass in Yoho National Park . At Kicking Horse Pass, the highest point on the whole Trans-Canada Highway system is reached, at 1,627 m (5,338 ft). Speed limits on
2016-573: A significant impact on the Jasper, Alberta tourism industry. The train had brought around 100,000 tourists per year to the town. In 1982, these numbers were not made up by tourists travelling by other methods. The cancellation was criticized by local business groups, with the Jasper Chamber of Commerce filing an unsuccessful injunction on procedural grounds with the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta , arguing that
2142-663: A small arterial road , it enters the Departure Bay Terminal and crosses the Strait of Georgia to Horseshoe Bay via BC Ferries . From there, it travels through Metro Vancouver on a four-to-eight-lane freeway before leaving the city and continuing as a four-lane freeway eastward up the Fraser Valley to Hope . There, the Trans-Canada Highway exits the freeway and turns north for 186 km (116 mi) through Fraser Canyon and Thompson Canyon toward Cache Creek , mostly as
2268-410: A tourism and travel centre. The Coquihalla project also realigned Highway 1 (TCH) to a new freeway bypass around Kamloops . Plans for a freeway to bypass or eliminate traffic congestion and road hazards along the heavily-travelled route from Victoria to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island were cancelled during the recession that followed the 1987 stock market crash . In Alberta, between 1964 and 1972,
2394-1098: A train consisting of a single passenger car (carriage, coach) with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g. the Great Western Railway , used the term " railmotor ". If the railcar is able to pull a full train, it is more likely to be called a " motor coach " or a "motor car". The term "railcar" is sometimes also used as an alternative name for the small types of multiple unit that consist of more than one coach. Rapid transit trains are trains that operate in urban areas on exclusive rights-of-way in that pedestrians and road vehicles may not access them. Light rails are electrically powered urban passenger trains that run along an exclusive rights-of-way at ground level, raised structures, tunnels, or in streets. Light rail systems generally use lighter equipment that operate at slower speeds to allow for more flexibility in integrating systems into urban environments. Trams (also known as streetcars in North America) are
2520-450: A two-lane route, portions of the route are built as two-lane expressways . Two short bypasses are also considered part of the Trans-Canada Highway system. These include the 42-kilometre-long (26 mi) Perimeter Highway 100 bypass around Winnipeg, which provides an expressway standard alternative to the crowded Highway 1 in the city centre, and the 34-kilometre-long (21 mi) two-lane Kenora Bypass ( Highway 17A ), which
2646-473: A two-lane rural highway with only occasional traffic lights. Approaching Kamloops , Highway 1 re-enters a short freeway alignment (briefly concurrent with Highways 5 and 97 ), before passing through Kamloops itself as a four-lane signalized highway. From Kamloops, the highway continues east as a mostly-two-lane rural highway through the Interior of British Columbia, with occasional passing lanes. It widens to
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#17328444450022772-411: A type of passenger train that runs a tramway track on or alongside public urban streets, often including segments of right-of-way for passengers and vehicles. Heritage trains are often operated by volunteers, often railfans , as a tourist attraction or as a museum railway. Usually, the trains are formed from historic vehicles retired from national commercial operation that have retained or assumed
2898-535: Is 1,045 km (649 mi) long, beginning in Victoria at the intersection of Douglas Street and Dallas Road (where the "Mile 0" plaque stands), and ending on the Alberta border at Kicking Horse Pass . The highway starts by passing northward along the east coast of Vancouver Island for 99 km (62 mi) to Nanaimo along a mostly-four-lane, heavily-signalized highway. After passing through downtown Nanaimo on
3024-470: Is a two-lane route that bypasses the entire town to the north. Early on, much of the route of the Trans-Canada Highway was first explored in order to construct the Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 19th century, a route which much of the mainline TCH route later ended up following. The Trans-Canada Highway was not the first road across Canada. In British Columbia, the highway was predated by
3150-421: Is approximately 120 km (75 mi) long. Since the Trans-Canada Highway for the most part follows Quebec's Autoroute System, which is always composed of a minimum four-lane freeway, travel through Quebec is generally, safe, fast, and congestion-free. The exception is the route through Montreal, which can be prone to traffic congestion. However, drivers can bypass the city on the tolled Autoroute 30, which
3276-437: Is designated as Highway 16 in all four provinces that it passes through (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba). It follows a more northerly east–west route across Western Canada than the main TCH and passes through fewer cities, with Edmonton being the largest on the route. Other major municipalities on the route include Prince Rupert , Prince George , Lloydminster , and Saskatoon . The Yellowhead Highway
3402-650: Is high-speed rail, which generally runs at speeds above 200 km/h (120 mph) and often operates on a dedicated track that is surveyed and prepared to accommodate high speeds. The first successful example of a high-speed passenger rail system was Japan's Shinkansen , colloquially known as the "bullet train", which commenced operation in October 1964. Other examples include Italy's LeFrecce , France's TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse, literally "high speed train"), Germany's ICE (Inter-City Express), and Spain's AVE (Alta Velocidad Española). In most cases, high-speed rail travel
3528-465: Is largely non-functional as a major long distance corridor due to its roundabout route and the complete avoidance of the Toronto area. It is a 671-kilometre-long (417 mi) alternate route to Highway 17 (the mainline TCH) between Sudbury and Ottawa. It passes through several major communities, including Orillia and Peterborough . Because it passes closer to major population centres, this section of
3654-461: Is limited to 110 km/h (68 mph), but is 100 km/h (62 mph) east of Winnipeg. East of Winnipeg, the highway continues for over 200 km (120 mi) to Kenora , Ontario. At the provincial border, the expressway becomes an arterial highway, and the numeric designation of the highway changes from 1 to 17. It is signed with a provincial shield along with a numberless Trans-Canada Highway sign, and continues as an arterial highway along
3780-584: Is most well-known for passing through Jasper National Park in Alberta, where it crosses the Continental Divide through its namesake Yellowhead Pass . Since it carries significantly less traffic than its more southerly counterpart, the Yellowhead is almost exclusively a two-lane highway in British Columbia and Manitoba, and is only partially a four-lane expressway in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Until 1990,
3906-645: Is not part of the Trans-Canada. The maximum speed limit on the Quebec Autoroute System (including the TCH) is a strictly-enforced 100 km/h (62 mph). However, the speed limit may be lower in select spots, such as through tunnels or major interchanges. Since 2018, Quebec has been working on upgrading the 40-kilometre-long (25 mi) two-lane section of Trans-Canada Highway along Route 185 to an Autoroute, with 21.5 km (13.4 mi) of new freeway commissioned during 2021–22, another 10 km in 2024 and
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4032-604: Is notable that the Trans-Canada largely bypasses Canada's most heavily populated region, the Golden Horseshoe area of Southern Ontario, which includes Canada's largest city, Toronto . However, a short section of the Central Ontario branch does pass through the rural northeastern edge of Durham Region at both Sunderland and Beaverton, which is officially part of the Greater Toronto Area. Access to Toronto itself from
4158-477: Is part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, and bypasses the city with a mix of traffic lights and interchanges, while Highway 1 continues through central Winnipeg as a signalized arterial road. With the exception of a 15.3-kilometre-long (9.5 mi) stretch of two-lane highway just west of the Ontario border, the entire length of Highway 1 through the Prairie Provinces is a four-lane highway. While
4284-567: Is part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, but is almost exclusively referred to as the Yellowhead Highway and is often recognized as its own highway under that name. In comparison, Highway 1 in Western Canada is always referred to as the Trans-Canada Highway, and has a significantly higher traffic volume with a route passing through more major cities than the less important Highway 16 (Yellowhead) TCH route. Therefore Highway 1
4410-440: Is time- and cost-competitive with air travel when distances do not exceed 500 to 600 km (310 to 370 mi), as airport check-in and boarding procedures can add at least two hours to the overall transit time. Also, rail operating costs over these distances may be lower when the amount of jet fuel consumed by an airliner during takeoff and climbout is taken into consideration. Air travel becomes more cost-competitive as
4536-579: Is usually considered to be part of the main Trans-Canada Highway route, while Highway 16 is not, although it may be considered a second mainline corridor as it serves a more northerly belt of major cities, as well as having its own Pacific terminus. Although the TCH network is strictly a transcontinental system, and does not enter any of Canada's three northern territories or run to the United States border , it does form part of Canada's overall National Highway System (NHS), which provides connections to
4662-618: The Continental was used while on CP the Dominion was used. Despite the new and refurbished equipment and a new black-and-green, yellow-trim paint scheme, the Super Continental's mixture of equipment paled in comparison to CP's all stainless-steel consist, produced for them by the Budd Company . An additional important distinction was that The Canadian featured scenic dome cars , which
4788-573: The Continental Limited . Not coincidentally, this was the same date that competitor Canadian Pacific Railway introduced its new streamlined transcontinental train The Canadian . Before its introduction in regular service, the equipment that was to be used for the Super Continental was displayed at some of the stations on the train's route. The Super Continental reduced the travel time between Montreal and Vancouver by up to 14 hours, removing
4914-622: The Canadian and the Super Continental . Via Rail reconfigured these routes, making the Canadian a Toronto–Vancouver train and the Super Continental a Montreal–Vancouver train. Sleeping cars were exchanged in Winnipeg between the two trains. The Canadian became the company's premier transcontinental train and the Super Continental was relegated to secondary status. Nevertheless, a confluence of astute marketing, high gasoline prices, and rampant inflation actually led to an increase in ridership during
5040-471: The Canadian Shield , a rugged, forested area with thousands of lakes. There are many cottage communities along this section of the Trans-Canada Highway, some of which have their driveways directly onto the highway. Highway 11/Highway 17 proceeds southeast for 65 km (40 mi) to Thunder Bay , then northeast for 115 km (71 mi) to Nipigon . An 83-kilometre (52 mi) segment of
5166-671: The Coquihalla Highway in 1986, the Trans-Canada Highway through the Fraser Canyon received less traffic, because the freeway bypass shortened the drive between Hope and Kamloops by 90 minutes. However, the route was retained as part of the Trans-Canada Highway system, and is considered a scenic route and a valuable part of the Fraser Country Circle Tour. The opening of the Coquihalla was also an economic disaster for many of
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5292-705: The Crowsnest Highway , the Big Bend Highway , and the Cariboo Highway , all of which were constructed during the Great Depression era. Many of the earlier highways in British Columbia were largely gravel and had many frequent inland ferry crossings at wide rivers and lakes. In Alberta, the section between Calgary and Banff was predated by the Morley Trail (now Highway 1A), which was driveable starting in
5418-580: The Milwaukee Road . Although the CN was not completely dieselized until 1960, the Super Continental was from the outset hauled by a variety of diesel locomotives, including Montreal Locomotive Works FP-2s and FP-4s , Canadian Locomotive Company C-liners in eastern Canada, and General Motors Diesel FP9 units in western Canada. By the 1960s, Canadian passenger trains were in serious decline, largely thanks to government subsidies for automobiles travelling
5544-538: The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) transferred the responsibility of maintenance and upkeep along 14.2 km (8.8 mi) of Highway 17 east of "the split" with Highway 417 to Trim Road (Regional Road 57) to the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton , a process commonly referred to as downloading . The Regional Municipality then designated the road as Regional Road 174 . Despite
5670-560: The Northwest Territories , Yukon , and the border, although the NHS (apart from the TCH sections) is unsigned. Canada's National Highway System is not under federal jurisdiction or coordination, as highway construction and maintenance are entirely under the jurisdiction of the individual provinces , which also handle route numbering on the Trans-Canada Highway. The Western provinces have voluntarily coordinated their highway numbers so that
5796-476: The Super Continental did not use. CN chose not to purchase dome cars for reasons of economy, although it has also been claimed that dome cars might interfere with the electrified catenary used in Montreal's Central Station by commuter trains of the former Canadian Northern raillines. In 1964, CN purchased used dome cars that came from United States to use on the portion of the route between Edmonton and Vancouver from
5922-506: The Super Continental . Passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self propelled passenger trains are known as multiple units or railcars . Passenger trains stop at stations or depots , where passengers may board and disembark. In most cases, passenger trains operate on
6048-629: The United States began in the 1830s and became popular in the 1850s and '60s. The first electric passenger train was exhibited at the Berlin Industrial Exposition 1879 . The first successful commercial electric passenger train, the Gross-Lichterfelde Tramway , ran a year later in Lichterfelde . Long-distance trains travel between many cities or regions of a country, and sometimes cross several countries. They often have
6174-600: The 1910s and paved in the 1930s. The first route over the Central Canadian Rockies to connect Calgary to British Columbia was the Banff–Windermere Parkway , which was opened in 1922 and is now numbered as Highway 93. Sections of road across the Prairies have also existed since the 1920s. A gravel road connection across northern Ontario (Highway 17) was constructed starting in 1931. While this section
6300-489: The Main TCH route between Kenora and Thunder Bay, passing through the town of Fort Frances on the U.S. border. Then, after running concurrently with the main Trans-Canada Highway route, Highway 11 splits off to the north at Nipigon , running through a vast and sparsely-populated area of northern Ontario. This highway sees little long-distance traffic compared to the main route, beside heavy transport trucks looking to avoid
6426-576: The Mainland segment of the Trans-Canada Highway in British Columbia range from 90–100 km/h (56–62 mph), although in towns it can be as low as 50 km/h (31 mph). A combination of difficult terrain and growing urbanization limits posted speeds on the Vancouver Island section to 50 km/h (31 mph) in urban areas, 80 km/h (50 mph) over the Malahat and through suburban areas, and
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#17328444450026552-485: The New Brunswick border, the main Trans-Canada Highway route continues east into Nova Scotia at Amherst , where it settles onto Nova Scotia Highway 104 . Southeast of Amherst, near Thomson Station , the highway traverses the Cobequid Pass , a 45-kilometre (28 mi) tolled section ending at Masstown , before passing by Truro , where it links with Highway 102 to Halifax, 117 km (73 mi) east of
6678-514: The New Brunswick border. Halifax , like Toronto, is a provincial capital that the Trans-Canada Highway does not pass through. Beyond Truro, the highway continues east for 57 km (35 mi) to New Glasgow, where it meets Highway 106 , before continuing to the Canso Causeway , which crosses the Strait of Canso onto Cape Breton Island near Port Hawkesbury . From the Canso Causeway,
6804-536: The Saskatchewan Border. In 1970, plans were made for a six-to-eight-lane freeway to carry the Trans-Canada Highway though the heart of North Calgary, but the plan was soon dropped due to citizen outcry . Between Ottawa and the Ontario–Quebec border, the Trans-Canada Highway designation was taken from the two-lane Highway 17 and applied to the existing Highway 417 freeway in 1997–98. On April 1, 1997,
6930-550: The TCH route to Montreal after connecting with Autoroute 15 . The main Highway ;11 continues south until it intersects the main Trans-Canada Highway route (Highway 17) in North Bay. Except for the southernmost stretches south of Labelle , these highways are two-lane undivided routes. The southern Ontario Trans-Canada Highway route is even more abstract than the northern ones, as it uses four different provincial highways, and
7056-464: The TCH sees higher traffic volumes. It is made up of various sections of freeways, expressways, and two-lane routes. Another spur route of the Trans-Canada Highway splits off the mainline in eastern New Brunswick. This route connects to Prince Edward Island across the 13-kilometre-long (8.1 mi) Confederation Bridge , crosses the central part of Prince Edward Island, including through the provincial capital of Charlottetown , before crossing back to
7182-530: The Trans-Canada Highway between Thunder Bay and Nipigon is commemorated as the Terry Fox Courage Highway . Fox was forced to abandon his cross-country Marathon of Hope run here, and a bronze statue of him was later erected in his honour. The highway is the only road that connects eastern and western Canada. On January 10, 2016, the Nipigon River Bridge suffered a mechanical failure, closing
7308-526: The Trans-Canada Highway for 17 hours; the only alternative was to go through the United States, around the south side of Lake Superior . Highway 17 proceeds east from Nipigon for 581 km (361 mi) along the northern and eastern coast of Lake Superior. Between Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie , the highway crosses the Montreal River Hill , which sometimes becomes a bottleneck on the system in
7434-575: The Trans-Canada Highway was completely rerouted from its former two-lane alignment along the Bow River to a new, more direct, four-lane freeway between Banff and Calgary, resulting in the bypassing of several towns, such as Canmore . Prior to this change, one of the first traffic circles in Canada existed on Highway 1 at the "gateway" junction for Banff from at least as early as the 1950s. The current interchange on Highway 1 for Banff Avenue now occupies
7560-473: The Yellowhead Highway had its own unique highway number signs, but they have now mostly been replaced with standard maple-leaf Trans-Canada Highway signs, with numberless Yellowhead shields posted adjacent to them. The 1,547-kilometre (961 mi) section of Highway 71 and Highway 11 between Kenora and North Bay, Ontario , is considered part of the Trans-Canada Highway. This highway first runs south of
7686-510: The application, forcing CN to continue service despite falling revenue. With losses increasing to $ 55.9 million in 1975, CN again submitted an application to discontinue the service in 1976 and was again denied by the commission. On April 1, 1978, a new federal Crown corporation called Via Rail Canada formally assumed responsibility for the passenger services of CN. Via Rail also assumed responsibility for CP Rail's passenger services on October 29, 1978, giving it two transcontinental routes:
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#17328444450027812-399: The character, appearance, and operating practices of railways in their time. Sometimes lines that operate in isolation also provide transport facilities for local people. Much of the equipment used on these trains' systems is original or at least aims to replicate both the look and the operating practices of historic/former railways companies. Passenger rail is one of the modes of travel with
7938-531: The city of Regina , and skirts around the city on the Regina Bypass , the most expensive infrastructure project in Saskatchewan to date . Beyond Regina, it continues east for 486 km (302 mi), across the border with Manitoba, to the cities of Brandon and Portage la Prairie , and finally 84 km (52 mi) east to Winnipeg . The southern portion of Winnipeg's Perimeter Highway (Highway 100)
8064-570: The city on Highway 417, which is between six and eight lanes wide at this point. In Southern Ontario , the speed limit is generally 80 km/h (50 mph) on the Trans-Canada, while in Northern Ontario it is 90 km/h (56 mph). Sections routed along Highway 417 outside urban Ottawa feature a higher limit of 110 km/h (68 mph). While Highways 17 and 417 are largely free from traffic congestion except for minor rush hour delays on Ottawa's stretch of Highway 417,
8190-467: The city. Ontario plans to eventually extend the 417 freeway to Sudbury, which will widen the section of the mainline TCH between Ottawa and Sudbury to four-lane freeway standards. However, there is no funding secured for such a project, as Ontario is currently focusing on extending Highway 400 to Sudbury along the Highway 69 corridor (which is part of the Georgian Bay TCH route). It
8316-810: The conventional rail infrastructure to support trains that can operate safely at higher speeds. Many cities and their surrounding areas are served by commuter trains (also known as suburban trains), which serve commuters who live outside of the city they work in, or vice versa. More specifically, in the United States commuter rail service is defined as, "short-haul rail passenger transportation in metropolitan and suburban areas usually having reduced fare, multiple ride, and commuter tickets and morning and evening peak period operations". Trains are very efficient for transporting large numbers of people at once, compared to road transport. While automobiles may be delayed by traffic congestion , trains operate on dedicated rights-of-way which allow them to bypass such congestion. With
8442-434: The country, the term "Trans-Canada Highway" often refers to the main route that consists of Highway 1 (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), Highways 17 and 417 (Ontario), Autoroutes 40, 25, 20, and 85 (Quebec), Highway 2 (New Brunswick), Highways 104 and 105 (Nova Scotia), and Highway 1 (Newfoundland). This main route starts in Victoria and ends in St. John's , passes through nine of
8568-457: The designation of Highway 1 and runs northeast for 219 km (136 mi) through Corner Brook , east for another 352 km (219 mi) through Gander , and finally ends at St. John's , another 334 km (208 mi) southeast, for a total of 905 km (562 mi), crossing the island. The majority of the Trans-Canada Highway in Newfoundland is undivided, though sections in Corner Brook, Grand Falls-Windsor , Glovertown , and
8694-424: The early 1980s. However, the 1981 federal budget of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau 's Liberal government led to fully 20% of Via's route miles being eliminated. The Super Continental was among the trains immediately cut. Its last service arrived in Vancouver on November 16, 1981. Such reductions in passenger service proved to be politically unpopular. For example, the cancellation of the Super Continental had
8820-434: The eastbound Super Continental derailed twelve cars at a location about 120 kilometres (75 mi) east of Jasper, Alberta . The train remained upright with only one broken arm reported for personal injuries. In the morning of February 8, 1986, as passengers were getting breakfast, the Super Continental ran head-on into a CN freight train about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) east of Hinton, Alberta . The collision created
8946-415: The federal cabinet had acted illegally by circumventing the Canadian Transportation Commission in cancelling the service. Following the election of the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney in 1984, service was restored on June 1, 1985, but on a truncated route from Vancouver to Winnipeg via Edmonton that no longer lived up to the 'Continental' name. The Toronto/Montreal to Sudbury segment
9072-404: The freight train on the same track. The freight train was travelling at 25 mph (40 km/h) while the Super Continental was travelling at 35 mph (56 km/h). The engineer and a trainman on the freight train were both killed; there was at least one report of looting among the passengers, but many of the children aboard the train stayed asleep through the accident. On August 8, 1980,
9198-411: The furthest points of the journey. This practice allows less populous communities to be served in the most cost-effective way, at the expense of a longer journey time for those wishing to travel to the terminus station. Higher-speed rail services operate at top speeds that are higher than conventional inter-city trains but below high-speed rail services. These services are provided after improvements to
9324-705: The highway (again signed exclusively with the TCH shield) follows the Saint John River Valley, running south for 170 km (110 mi) to Woodstock (parallelling the Canada–US border ) and then east for another 102 km (63 mi) to pass through Fredericton . 40 km (25 mi) east of Fredericton, the Saint John River turns south, whereby the highway crosses the river at Jemseg and continues heading east to Moncton another 135 km (84 mi) later. On November 1, 2007, New Brunswick completed
9450-504: The highway continues east, now designated as Highway 105 on Cape Breton Island, until reaching the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal at North Sydney . From North Sydney, a 177-kilometre (110 mi) ferry route, operated by the Crown corporation Marine Atlantic , continues the highway to Newfoundland , arriving at Channel-Port aux Basques , whereby the Trans-Canada Highway assumes
9576-570: The highway continues southeast for 54 km (34 mi) to a junction at Aulac close to the New Brunswick– Nova Scotia border (near Sackville ). Here, Trans-Canada Highway again splits into two routes, with the main route continuing to the nearby border with Nova Scotia as Route 2, and a 70-kilometre (43 mi) route designated as Route 16 , which runs east to the Confederation Bridge at Cape Jourimain . From
9702-472: The highway passes through Banff National Park and has significant tourism. The section of Highway 1 through Banff National Park was also one of the first highways in North America to have wildlife crossing structures and fencing installed on it . After leaving the mountains it enters Calgary, where it becomes known as 16 Avenue N , a busy six-lane street with many signalized intersections. For
9828-409: The highway, where the road meets and transfers into the start of the Trans-Canada Highway. The terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway in Victoria , at the foot of Douglas Street and Dallas Road at Beacon Hill Park , is also marked by a "mile zero" monument. St. John's downtown arena, Mary Brown's Centre , was originally branded under naming rights as "Mile One Centre" in reference to the geography of
9954-457: The last four cars of the train derailed on a switch. The train was moving at slow speed for entry into the station, so no injuries were reported, but several wheels needed to be replaced. The derailment delayed the train by 8 hours that day. On February 13, 1960, the Super Continental , running 3 hours late, collided head-on with a 39-car freight train near Osawin, 32 miles (51 km) west of Hornepayne , Ontario. The passenger train's engineer
10080-503: The late 1980s, federal budgets were under serious pressure, and the Mulroney government's 1989 budget proved disastrous for Via Rail. The Super Continental was cancelled again; the last trains left Winnipeg and Vancouver on January 14, 1990. This left The Canadian as Via's sole transcontinental train. It was moved to the longer CN route used by the first incarnation of the Super Continental. Three occupants of an automobile, one of whom
10206-494: The longer Trans-Canada Highway route. Another example is that much long-distance traffic between Western and Eastern Canada will drive south into the United States and use the Interstate Highway System, rather than the Trans-Canada Highway through Northern Ontario . The main Trans-Canada Highway is uniformly designated as Highway 1 across the four western provinces. The British Columbia section of Highway 1
10332-514: The lowest carbon dioxide emissions. Rail travel emits much less carbon dioxide per mile than air travel (2–27%) or car travel (2–24%). Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French : Route Transcanadienne ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can ) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada , from the Pacific Ocean on
10458-461: The main TCH line. The TCH then follows Autoroute 25 southbound, crossing the St. Lawrence River through the 6-lane Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge–Tunnel , and proceeds northeast on Autoroute 20 for 257 km (160 mi) to Lévis (across from Quebec City ). East of Lévis , the Trans-Canada Highway continues on Autoroute 20 following the south bank of the St. Lawrence River to
10584-439: The main Trans-Canada route is designated Highway 1 and the Yellowhead route is designated Highway 16 throughout. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador also designate Highway 1 as their section of the TCH, while New Brunswick uses Highway 2 (a separate important highway—albeit non-TCH—is Highway 1 in that province). East of Manitoba, the highway numbers change at each provincial boundary, or within
10710-420: The main route across Northern and Eastern Ontario, until widening out to a freeway at Arnprior, near Ottawa. In Kenora, the Trans-Canada designation includes both the main route through the city's urban core and the 33.6 km (20.9 mi) Highway 17A bypass route to the north. The existing branch from Kenora continues east for 136 km (85 mi) to Dryden . This section of highway passes through
10836-404: The mainland on a ferry. This length of the route is 234 km (145 miles), and consists of New Brunswick Highway 16, Prince Edward Island Highway 1, and Nova Scotia Highway 106. This leg of the Trans-Canada Highway sees moderately high traffic volumes and is an important tourist route. The Confederation Bridge is often viewed as an attraction in itself. Although the highway is mostly
10962-408: The mainline from Northern Ontario is via the non-TCH southern section of Highway 400, while access from Toronto to Quebec and points east is via Highway 401 (North America's busiest highway and a major national highway in itself), a short non-TCH section of Autoroute 20 , and A-30 , where the Trans-Canada is joined at A-40 just west of Montreal. From Ottawa, the Trans-Canada Highway continues as
11088-446: The many non-expressway sections of the Trans-Canada Highway often form the main streets of communities, with homes and businesses directly adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway. The Trans-Canada Highway is not always the preferred route between two cities, or even across the country. For example, the vast majority of traffic travelling between Hope and Kamloops, British Columbia, takes the Coquihalla Highway via Merritt , rather than
11214-449: The need for a fourth night aboard the train. The journey was advertised as the longest single run of a diesel locomotive powered train in North America without changing locomotives. In 1960, CN and CP both introduced "transcontinental local" trains, which were really reconfigurations of existing services, that were intended to serve passengers on shorter trips that followed the same routes as the Super Continental and The Canadian . On CN,
11340-426: The next 293 km (182 mi) after Calgary, the Trans-Canada Highway continues as a four-lane expressway, with few stops along its route. Medicine Hat is served by a series of six interchanges, after which the Trans-Canada crosses into Saskatchewan on the way to Moose Jaw . The highway mainly travels straight as a four-lane route for most of these sections. The expressway continues 79 km (49 mi) east to
11466-453: The non-freeway sections are subject to frequent closures due to crashes, especially in winter. It is considered a dangerous route due to its extensive outdated sections of winding two-lane highway. Because this section of the highway passes through a largely undeveloped and forested area, collisions with animals are a common cause of crashes. As recently as 2022 , Sault Ste. Marie's local government has asked for Highway 17 to be expanded north of
11592-408: The older United States Numbered Highway System . As a result, highway construction standards vary considerably among provinces and cities. In much of British Columbia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, the Trans-Canada Highway system is still in its original two-lane state. British Columbia is actively working on converting its section of Highway 1 east of Kamloops to
11718-576: The only true freeway sections of the route are along the Regina Bypass, in Medicine Hat, and between Calgary and Banff, the whole highway is largely stoplight-free, with "split" at-grade intersections forming the vast majority of the junctions. The speed limit is restricted to 90 km/h (56 mph) through national parks in Canada, including Banff National Park. East of Banff, traffic on most of Highway 1 through Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba
11844-535: The protests of the region that the route served a provincial purpose, a second round of transfers saw Highway 17 within Ottawa downloaded entirely on January 1, 1998, adding an additional 12.8 km (8.0 mi) to the length of Regional Road 174. The highway was also downloaded within the United Counties of Prescott and Russell , where it was redesignated as County Road 17. The result of these transfers
11970-417: The region. The usage of miles instead of kilometres at both designations dates back to when the Trans-Canada Highway was completed in 1962, prior to metrication in Canada . The Yellowhead Highway is a 2,859-kilometre (1,777 mi) highway in Western Canada, running from Masset, British Columbia , to where it intersects Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) just west of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba . It
12096-556: The remaining 8.5 km (5.3 mi) of freeway under construction, with final completion targeted for 2026. Once this project is complete, the disconnected sections of Autoroute 85 will be joined, and all of Quebec's Mainline Trans-Canada Highway route will be minimum four-lane freeway standards. This will also result in the TCH becoming a continuous freeway from Arnprior, Ontario, to Lower South River, Nova Scotia . The Trans-Canada Highway crosses into New Brunswick and becomes Route 2 just northwest of Edmundston . From Edmundston,
12222-479: The route a full freeway began in the late 1990s and was completed in 2007. The 13-kilometre-long (8.1 mi) Confederation Bridge connecting PEI to New Brunswick opened in 1997. Replacing the ferry that previously serviced that route, it was hailed as a major accomplishment. In 2000 and 2001, Transport Canada considered funding an infrastructure project to have the full Trans-Canada system converted to limited-access divided highways. Although construction funding
12348-522: The same trackage (though not simultaneously), as well as producing a more comfortable ride for passengers. "Inter-city" is a general term for any rail service that uses trains with limited stops to provide fast long-distance travel. Inter-city services can be divided into three major groups: The distinction between the three types of inter-city rail service may be unclear; trains can run as InterCity services between major cities, then revert to an express (or even regional) train service to reach communities at
12474-483: The significant elevation changes along the Lake Superior route, since it is much flatter and the transit time for heavy hauling is usually the same. The area is also not well-known as a tourist destination outside of fishing tours, which are often fly-in. A much shorter 60-kilometre (37 mi) section of Highway 66 connects another northern Trans-Canada Highway route to Quebec's Highway 117 , which itself continues
12600-538: The site. In the rest of Banff National Park, much of the predecessor Highway 1 parkway was bypassed by a new two-lane route in the 1960s. The original route between Banff and Lake Louise remains as the Bow Valley Parkway and Lake Louise Drive, while a section over Kicking Horse Pass was abandoned and is now part of the Great Divide Trail . Between 1973 and 1990, the highway was twinned from Calgary to
12726-531: The ten provinces, and connects most of the country's major cities, including Vancouver , Calgary , Regina , Winnipeg , Ottawa , Montreal , Quebec City , and Fredericton . One of the main route's eight other parallel routes connects to the tenth province, Prince Edward Island . While the other parallel routes in the system are also technically part of the Trans-Canada Highway, they are usually considered either secondary routes or different highways altogether. For example, Highway 16 throughout Western Canada
12852-569: The then-new Trans-Canada Highway and for airlines. The Continental Limited, the Super Continental's predecessor, was cut back to a Montreal to Saskatoon train in 1964 and then discontinued the following year. The CN nevertheless aggressively marketed its services, even while CP was losing interest in operating The Canadian . To help combat the perception that the CP route through the Rocky Mountains
12978-469: The time it was considered a major improvement to the gravel roads and ferries it replaced, it was soon believed to be insufficient to handle the growing traffic volumes. In response, several provinces began to construct realignments, freeway widenings, and twin sections of highway in response to traffic flow and safety concerns. In British Columbia's Lower Mainland, the Upper Levels Freeway alignment
13104-464: The towns along the Fraser Canyon section of the Trans-Canada Highway, since most of the travel and tourism business along the route quickly dried up when most of the traffic took the new highway. The towns continue to be largely deprived of wealth, and some are close to being abandoned. On the other hand, Merritt , located midway up the new Coquihalla highway, ended up booming, and continues to grow as
13230-697: The travel distance increases because the fuel accounts for less of the overall operating cost of the airliner. Some high-speed rail systems employ tilting technology to improve stability in curves. Examples of tilting trains are the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), the Pendolino , the N700 Series Shinkansen , Amtrak 's Acela and the Spanish Talgo . Tilting is a dynamic form of superelevation , allowing both low- and high-speed traffic to use
13356-399: The use of bilevel cars , which are tall enough to have two levels of seating, commuter rail services can haul as many as 150 commuters per train car, and over 1,000 per train: much more than the capacity of automobiles and buses. In British and Australian usage, a "railcar" is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term is usually used in reference to
13482-525: The west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast. The main route spans 7,476 km (4,645 mi) across the country, one of the longest routes of its type in the world. The highway system is recognizable by its distinctive white-on-green maple leaf route markers , although there are small variations in the markers in some provinces. While by definition the Trans-Canada Highway is a highway system that has several parallel routes throughout most of
13608-459: The whole alignment of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Lower Mainland a freeway. All bypassed sections of the highway were absorbed into various urban and rural road networks. The older freeways in the Lower Mainland were largely built as a parkway design, with wide, forested medians and low overpasses (a road configuration that was common across North America at the time). After the opening of
13734-487: The winter when inclement weather can make the steep grade virtually impassable. At Sault Ste. Marie, the main route turns eastward for 291 km (181 mi) to Sudbury . The mainline route then continues east from Sudbury for 151 km (94 mi) to North Bay. The northern route rejoins the mainline here, which continues 339 km (211 mi) to Arnprior , where it widens to a freeway and becomes Highway 417 . The freeway continues to Ottawa passing through
13860-661: Was a horse drawn train on the Swansea and Mumbles Railway which opened in 1807. In 1808, Trevithick ran a passenger-carrying exhibition train called Catch Me Who Can on a small loop of track in London. The exhibition, which ran for two weeks, charged passengers for rides. The first steam train carrying passengers on a public railway was hauled by Locomotion No. 1 on the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825 , traveling at speeds up to 15 miles per hour. Travel by passenger trains in
13986-525: Was approved by the Trans-Canada Highway Act of 1949, with construction commencing in 1950. The highway officially opened in 1962, with the completion of the Rogers Pass section of highway between Golden and Revelstoke . This section of highway bypassed the original Big Bend Highway, the last remaining section of gravel highway on the route. Upon its original completion, the Trans-Canada Highway
14112-616: Was completed on August 30, 2007, with the new Park Bridge and Ten Mile Hill sections opening up 16 km (9.9 mi) of new four-lane highway. Other smaller four-lane widening projects on the Trans-Canada Highway in the interior of British Columbia were also built around the same time. As part of the Gateway Program , 37 km (23 mi) of congested four-lane Highway 1 freeway in Metro Vancouver were widened to an eight-lane buildout starting in 2012. This project continues into
14238-480: Was composed of sections from pre-existing provincial highways, it is unlikely that the Trans-Canada Highway will ever have a uniform designation across the whole country. Unlike the Interstate Highway System in the United States, the Trans-Canada Highway system has no national construction standard, and it was originally built mostly as a two-lane highway with few multi-lane freeway sections, similar to
14364-511: Was eliminated, and the Capreol–Winnipeg segment was reduced to a triweekly nameless remote services train. During this period, Via Rail was also able to re-equip the Super Continental with modern GMD F40PH locomotives. On February 8, 1986, human error resulted in Via's eastbound Super Continental colliding with a CN freight train at Dalehurst, Alberta , near Hinton , killing 23 people. By
14490-625: Was in need of modernization, and between 1946 and 1950 the railway purchased a total of 75 new lightweight coaches and sleeping cars . However, post-war material shortages constrained the number of cars that CN was able to procure commercially, leading to a significant programme of in-house refurbishment of older heavyweight equipment in the CN carshops. Ultimately a total of 211 heavyweight cars were fitted out with new interiors, roller bearing trucks, and sealed windows. Nevertheless, it quickly became apparent that refurbished equipment alone would not be sufficient to remain competitive, and in 1952 CN placed
14616-419: Was killed and 33 passengers and 4 railwaymen were injured. The westbound Super Continental collided head-on with a freight train that was leaving a siding and entering the main line near Dunrankin, Ontario , on August 2, 1967. The engineer and fireman on the Super Continental were both killed, while the engineer and a brakeman on the freight train were reported as missing and presumed dead. One passenger
14742-399: Was largely open by the late 1930s, it was not fully completed until 1951 (in large part due to World War II interrupting construction). However, despite the gap, vehicles could still cross the county by getting ferried around the relatively short section of incomplete highway by either rail or water, and Highway 11 was completed to Hearst from the east by 1937 and Nipigon by 1943. The system
14868-554: Was made available to some provinces for portions of the system, the federal government ultimately decided to not pursue a comprehensive limited-access highway conversion. Opposition to funding the limited-access widening was due to low traffic levels on parts of the Trans-Canada Highway. Prior to the start of the Great Recession in 2008, the highway underwent some changes through the Rocky Mountains from Banff National Park to Golden , British Columbia. A major piece of this project
14994-476: Was more scenic, CN in 1964 acquired a set of six ex- Milwaukee Road " Super Dome " cars (rechristened "Sceneramics" by CN) that had formerly seen service on the Olympian Hiawatha . These were placed into service between Winnipeg and Vancouver. CN also refurbished the coaches that were used on the train, adding new luggage racks and lounge areas to some cars. A new secondary train along the route, The Panorama,
15120-468: Was opened in 1960 with the completion of the Second Narrows Crossing , which allowed the Trans-Canada Highway to bypass downtown Vancouver's streets and the narrow Lions Gate Bridge . The four-lane Upper Levels Freeway was relatively-crudely constructed, with narrow lanes, low overpasses, and no proper merge ramps. It remains in this state in the present day . Between 1962 and 1964, Highway 1
15246-472: Was placed into service in 1965. It was later discontinued in 1969. But despite CN's best efforts, ridership continued to decline throughout the 1970s, and the train operated at a loss. In 1969 it was estimated that the Super Continental operated at a loss of $ 14,058,030. CN applied to the Canadian Transport Commission to discontinue the Super Continental in 1971, but the commission declined
15372-546: Was rerouted onto a new four-lane freeway bypass between Vancouver and Chilliwack . This section of highway was originally part of British Columbia's own 400 series of highways , until the designation was replaced by Highway 1. A freeway alignment on the Trans-Canada Highway between Chilliwack and Hope opened in 1986. The opening of the Cassiar Tunnel in 1990 bypassed the last sets of signal lights in Vancouver, rendering
15498-434: Was taken to hospital, while the other 150 passengers sustained no or only minor injuries. A fire started from oil spilled from the locomotives, but the fire was quickly put out from the help of nearby section hands who organized a bucket brigade with sand to smother the flames. The westbound Super Continental struck a 400-foot-long (120 m) and up to 8-foot-deep (2.4 m) mudslide and derailed on March 29, 1972, at
15624-488: Was the driver, were killed on March 26, 1956, when the car they were in was struck by the Super Continental at a little-used level crossing in Quibell, Ontario , about 175 miles (282 km) east of Winnipeg. The train was travelling at high speed in this area at the time. Police on the scene could not initially indicate a cause for the collision. As the Super Continental pulled into the station in Ottawa on October 9, 1956,
15750-467: Was the longest uninterrupted highway in the world. Construction on other legs continued until 1971, when the last gap on Highway 16 was completed in the Upper Fraser Valley east of Prince George , at which point the highway network was considered complete. When the Trans-Canada Highway first opened, it was almost exclusively a two-lane route for its whole length across the country. While at
15876-479: Was the truncation of Highway 17 at the western end of Highway 417. 1990 saw the opening of the two-lane Kenora Bypass , providing through traffic with a way to avoid the congested town. Starting in the 1960s, Quebec began to build its Autoroute network. Many sections of Trans-Canada Highway were widened to freeway standards during that era of highway construction. Starting in 1987, New Brunswick began to widen its section of TCH to four lanes. Work to make
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