Winnipeg–Churchill train

The Winnipeg–Churchill train at Churchill in 2024
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Operating
Locale	Manitoba, Canada
Current operator	Via Rail
Former operator	Canadian National Railway
Ridership	428 weekly (FY 2023)[1]
Annual ridership	22,247 (FY 2023)[1]
Website	Winnipeg - Churchill
Route
Termini	Winnipeg, Manitoba; The Pas, Manitoba Churchill, Manitoba
Distance travelled	1,710 km (1,063 mi)
Average journey time	44 h 55 m to Churchill, 45 h 15 m to Winnipeg
Service frequency	2 trains per week
Train numbers	693, 691 (northbound), 692, 690 (southbound)
On-board services
Classes	Economy and sleeper class
Seating arrangements	Coach seat
Sleeping arrangements	Sleepers (offering some "open sections")
Catering facilities	Dining car
Technical
Rolling stock	F40PH locomotives Skyline series
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Operating speed	80 mph (128 km/h)
Track owners	CN, HBRY, KRC
Route map Show interactive map Legend 1697 Churchill 1685 Tidal 1670 Digges 1659 Bylot 1646 Lamprey 1632 Chesnaye 1617 Cromarty 1603 Belcher 1588 M'Clintock 1575 Back 1562 O'Day 1548 Kellett 1540 Herchmer 1520 Silcox 1508 Thibaudeau 1492 Lawledge 1477 Weir River 1463 Charlebois 1448 Amery 1435 Bird 1414 Kettle Rapids 1401 Gillam 1390 Luke 1366 Wivenhoe 1353 Nonsuch 1337 Ilford 1310 Munk 1289 Pit Siding 1279 Boyd 1257 Arnot 1249 Wilde 1229 Bridgar 1220 Pikwitonei 1199 Sipiwesk 1149 Thompson 1086 Leven 1073 Thicket Portage 1064 Hockin 1052 La Perouse 1041 Earchman 1031 Odhill 1017 Lyddal 996 Wabowden 985 Pipun 973 Dunlop 961 Button 949 Ponton 927 Turnbull 907 Wekusko 890 Paterson 877 Dyce 864 Rawebb 850 Dering 843 Cormorant 837 Halcrow 825 Budd 811 Finger 804 Atikameg Lake 798 Orok 790 Tremaudan Keewatin Railway to Pukatawagan 777 The Pas Manitoba Saskatchewan 636 Hudson Bay 586 Reserve 549 Endeavour 520 Sturgis 484 Canora 473 Mikado 459 Veregin 446 Kamsack 412 Togo Saskatchewan Manitoba 385 Roblin 331 Grandview 315 Gilbert Plains 283 Dauphin 262 Ochre River 238 Laurier 224 McCreary 191 Glenella 169 Plumas 148 Gladstone The Canadian to Vancouver 88 Portage la Prairie 0 Winnipeg The Canadian to Toronto Show route diagram map

The Winnipeg–Churchill train (formerly known as the Hudson Bay and, before that, Northern Spirits)^[2] is a twice weekly passenger train operated by Via Rail between Winnipeg and Churchill, Manitoba. It is the only dry-land connection between Churchill and the rest of Canada.

The service, which runs through Manitoba and Saskatchewan, travels on the Canadian National Railway line north to The Pas, where it transfers to the Hudson Bay Railway, passing through Wabowden, Manitoba, with a spur from Sipiwesk to Thompson, and Gillam on its way to the Port of Churchill on Hudson Bay.

The northbound train leaves Winnipeg at 12:05 on Tuesdays and Sundays and is scheduled to arrive in Churchill two days later at 09:00. The southbound service departs Churchill at 19:30 on Thursday and Saturday evenings and reaches Winnipeg at 16:45 two days later. An additional weekly service operates in each direction between The Pas (departure at 02:30 on Fridays) and Churchill (departure at 19:30 on Tuesdays). The trip takes approximately 45 hours each way.

An unnamed mixed passenger train connecting with the Winnipeg–Churchill train at The Pas previously served Lynn Lake, but this service was truncated to Pukatawagan in 2003 by the then track owners OmniTRAX citing a loss in freight traffic making the service unprofitable. Via still operates twice weekly service from The Pas to Pukatawagan on behalf of the Keewatin Railway which now owns the Sherridon Subdivision.^[2][3][4]

Service between Gillam and Churchill was suspended on May 23, 2017, when flooding heavily damaged the track bed and bridges.^[5] Because supplies had to be flown in by air when train service was suspended, prices skyrocketed in Churchill.^[6]

Repairs of the track began on September 8, 2018.^[7] By October 31, 2018, the track was repaired,^[8] and passenger services resumed with train 693 on December 2.^[9]

• Media related to Winnipeg – Churchill train at Wikimedia Commons
• Winnipeg-Churchill train at Via Rail Canada

External videos
"48hrs on VIA Rail's Most Northern Train in Canada" on YouTube, DownieLive, 2020-11-28