History of the E&N Railway

The Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) Railway was incorporated on 27 September 1883 by Victoria coal baron Sir Robert Dunsmuir, to support the coal and lumber industry and the Royal Navy base at Esquimalt. Construction began on 30 April 1884, and on 13 August 1886, Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald drove the last railway spike into the ground. The initial rail operation ran for 115 kilometres from Esquimalt to Nanaimo, hence the original name of the company. In 1888, the line was extended to the City of Victoria.

In 1905, Robert Dunsmuir’s son James sold the E&N Railway to the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), who extended E&N to Lake Cowichan, Port Alberni, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, and Courtenay. At its peak, the E&N Railway had 45 stations on the main line, 8 on the Port Alberni line, and 36 stations on the Cowichan line. Today only about 25 stations remain, with the majority unused and in a state of disrepair.

In 1953, CPR discontinued the Port Alberni passenger service. In 1979, VIA Rail assumed operational responsibility for the E&N Railway, but CPR retained ownership of the land. However, in 1998, CPR sold the east-west corridor – Parksville to Port Alberni – to Rail America, and entered into an operating agreement for freight operations. At that time approximately 8,500 carloads of forest and paper products, minerals, and chemicals were transported by rail each year.

In recent years a number of changes have occurred in rail freight transportation, most notably Norske’s announcement in 2001 that they would discontinue using rail freight service, opting for truck freight service instead. With the loss of this significant revenue stream, Rail America consequently announced its intention to cease operation and leave Vancouver Island.

On July 1, 2006, the ICF identified Southern Railway of British Columbia Limited (SRY) as it’s rail operator. SRY, based in New Westminster, B.C., will operate the Island Railway under the name Southern Railway of Vancouver Island Limited (SVI). SRY is a major transporter of freight in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley areas, and will now provide direct access for Customers along the Island Railway to connect to the North American railway network via SRY’s four class one connections (CN, CP, BNSF and UP). SRY’s goals are similar to those of ICF’s, that is to re-establish the railway as a vital entity meeting the goals of the ICF and its owners.