Northlander

The Northlander was a passenger train operated by the Ontario Northland Railway in Ontario, Canada.

For the Vertigo comic book, see Northlanders.

Northlander
Northlander at Englehart railway station
Overview
Type	Inter-city rail
System	Ontario Northland Railway
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Ontario, Canada
Termini	Toronto Union Station Cochrane
Stations	14
Operation
Opened	1976
Closed	September 28, 2012
Operator(s)	Ontario Northland Railway
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map Polar Bear Express 10:45 Cochrane 9:50 Matheson 9:05 Swastika 8:25 Englehart 7:55 New Liskeard 7:40 Cobalt 6:55 Temagami 5:10 North Bay 3:55 South River 3:00 Huntsville 2:25 Bracebridge 2:10 Gravenhurst 1:45 Washago 0:00 Toronto

The Northlander operated six days per week year-round in both directions and connected Cochrane with Toronto. The train typically consisted of one engine, an auxiliary power unit, two coaches and a cafeteria lounge car. It ran on ONR tracks from Cochrane to North Bay and on CN tracks south of North Bay to Toronto.

In March 2012, the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission announced plans to discontinue the Northlander and replace it with bus service (Routes 1 and 2).[1] The final train ran on September 28, 2012.[2] To push for the service's restoration, an advocacy group called All Aboard Northern Ontario was formed in October 2017.[3]

Stations

The Northlander made scheduled stops at the following stations:

↓↓↓↓		CITY / TOWN		↑↑↑↑	NOTES
08:40	DP	Toronto (Union Station)	AR	19:15	Connections to Via Rail, GO Transit & Amtrak
10:25		Washago		16:30	Connections to Via Rail's The Canadian
10:50		Gravenhurst		16:10
11:05		Bracebridge		15:55
11:40		Huntsville		15:30
12:35		South River		14:40	Connections to Via Rail's The Canadian
13:50	AR	North Bay	DP	13:35	Connections to Greyhound Canada and other intercity bus operators. Currently northern terminus of Dream Catcher Express
14:05	DP	North Bay	AR	13:25
15:35		Temagami		11:50	Currently southern terminus of Dream Catcher Express
16:20		Cobalt		11:05
16:35		New Liskeard		10:50	Ontario Northland bus stop until 2016
17:05		Englehart		10:20	ONR storage facility and repair shops
17:45		Swastika		09:40	Ontario Northland bus stop
18:30		Matheson		08:55	Transfer point for bus service to Timmins and South Porcupine, Ontario
18:55		Porquis Junction		08:20
19:25	AR	Cochrane	DP	08:00	Connections to Polar Bear Express to Moosonee, Ontario (as southern terminus)

Temagami railway station

Cochrane railway station

Former stations

• Service to Barrie and Orillia Ontario ended in 1992 when the Northlander was rerouted to the Bala subdivision before that section of the Newmarket subdivision was abandoned and removed by the Canadian National Railway in 1996.

References

1. Message from ONTC Chair Ted Hargreaves, March 23, 2012
2. Notice posted on Ontario Northland Railway website on September 25 2012
3. "Passenger Rail Advocates Urging Northlander Restoration". Northern Ontario Business. October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.

External links

• Official Website