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1977-1981
  
Public Relations and Advertising Department
Windsor Station Montreal Que. H3C 3E4
 

Volume 7   Number 14

Nov. 2, 1977


Traffic Record Broken in the West


Heavy Traffic:  Freight train winds its way along the Fraser Canyon, scene of bustling activity recently when new single-track mainline traffic record was set between Calgary and Vancouver.
 
 
 Vancouver - A new single-track traffic record for the CP Rail mainline between Calgary and Vancouver was set during a 51-day period in August and September.
 
The record - in both total tonnage and trains per day - resulted from diversion of Canadian National trains following closure of CN's Cisco Bridge in the Fraser Canyon 5 Aug 1977. The bridge was re-opened 24 Sep 1977.
 
The CP Rail traffic statistics showed a daily average of 33 trains and 193,000 gross tons travelling over the line, eastward or westward. An average of 13 CN trains were handled per day in addition to 20 CP Rail trains.
 
The heaviest single day was 15 Aug 1977 with a total of 43 trains - almost a movement every half hour.
 
In releasing the Fraser Canyon statistics, CP Rail's Pacific Region Vice President, J.D. Bromley, noted that similar traffic levels were encountered in the first three months of 1976 following closure of the Fraser River railway bridge at New Westminster, B.C.
 
"What makes the recent performance significant is that where the earlier CN diversion was handled on double track between Mission and Vancouver, the Fraser Canyon diversion is all single track, with sidings for trains to meet and pass every 6 to 10 miles", said Bromley.
 
The line is governed by a Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) system with dispatchers at Vancouver controlling and planning all train movements and "meets" through remote electronic operation of all signals and switches.
 
"The fact that this kind of traffic volume was handled for such a sustained period in complete safety is a credit to the communications, operating, and dispatching forces on the Canyon Division", he said.
 
Extra CP Rail operating personnel were required to ride the head-end of all CN trains. This is a common requirement and such people are referred to as "pilots". The reason they are on hand is to help familiarize CN train crews with operations over CP Rail tracks. Extra dispatchers were needed to complete the task.
 
The previous single-track-CTC record over a sustained period was in Oct-Nov 1973 - all of it CP Rail traffic - over the line between Golden and Revelstoke with an average of 22 trains and 122,000 gross tons a day.
 
For the first two and a half weeks of the Cisco Bridge closure, CN trains operated over the CP Rail line for 156 miles between Basque, west of Kamloops, and Mission. The detour distance was shortened 22 Aug 1977 to about 45 mile with construction of a temporary connection between the two railway lines at Cisco.

This CP Rail News article is copyright 1977 by Canadian Pacific Railway and is reprinted here with their permission. All photographs, logos, and trademarks are the property of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company.

© 2005 William C. Slim       http://www.okthepk.ca