Ontario Northland Railway main line
The Ontario Northland Railway main line is a railway line in the province of Ontario, in Canada. It runs from North Bay, Ontario, to Moosonee, on the southern end of James Bay. The line was built in stages by the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway, a crown corporation, between 1902 and 1932. The company was renamed the Ontario Northland Railway in 1946, and continues to own and operate the line. The Polar Bear Express provides passenger service between Cochrane, Ontario, and Moosonee. The Ontario Northland plans to resume passenger service south of Cochrane in 2026.
History
The Ontario provincial government created the Temiskaming and [Northern Ontario Railway] on 17 March 1902. The new company was to build a railway line between North Bay, Ontario, and New Liskeard, Ontario, on Lake Temiskaming. Groundbreaking took place on 10 May at Trout Lake, near North Bay. Given the risk of trackside fires from steam locomotives, the government considered electrification for the new line, but rejected it because of inadequate hydroelectric power sources along the proposed route.As construction continued, the planned northern terminus of the line moved from New Liskeard to Cochrane, Ontario, to connect with the National Transcontinental Railway, then in the early stages of development. The line opened between North Bay and New Liskeard on 16 January 1905. The extension from New Liskeard to Englehart, Ontario, opened on 1 October 1906. The line opened between Englehart and Cochrane on 30 November 1908.
A further extension to James Bay was approved in 1921, with construction beginning in February 1922. The extension opened between Cochrane and "Island Falls Junction", approximately north of Cochrane, on 1 November 1923. Howard Ferguson, who became Premier of Ontario in 1923, opposed the full extension to James Bay, and construction stalled at Fraserdale, north of Cochrane. The government reversed course in 1927 and construction resumed, reaching Coral Rapids on 18 October 1928. The line was completed to Moosonee on 15 July 1932.
The Ontario Northland had no station of its own in North Bay prior to 1990, instead using the stations of the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. With the withdrawal of Via Rail services to North Bay, the Ontario Northland Railway opened its own station on 29 August 1990. This eliminated a backup move to the Canadian National Railway's station on the Alderdale Subdivision. The Canadian National abandoned its line through North Bay on 24 November 1995. In 2025, the Ontario Northland built a new bypass track north of its North Bay yard, connecting with the Newmarket Subdivision. This was expected to save fifteen minutes on the schedule of a restored Northlander service.