Sometime called “Regional Rail”. Commuter trains are passenger trains operating on the
general railway network, within an urban area or between an urban centre and it's outlying
suburban communities. Principal passenger community is persons making same-day return trips within an
urban metropolitan area.
The RegioSprinter-operated service in Calgary, Alberta during the summer of 1996 could be considered “commuter rail” or “diesel light rail”. A technologically similar diesel light rail service began operating in Ottawa, Ontario in October 2001. The railbus operated at Lillooet might also be considered commuter rail.
The above list does not include commuter rail services operated directly by railways prior to the period of Transit Agency involvement, which remains to be fully documented. Notes may be found under 1. Elmira, Ontario, 2. Fort Erie, Ontario, 3. Halifax, Nova Scotia, 4. Kings County - Hants County, 5. Miramichi, New Brunswick, 6. Moncton, New Brunswick, 7. Montréal, Québec, 8. Pictou, Nova Scotia, 9. Portneuf - Québec, Québec, 10. Regina, Saskatchewan, 11. Renfrew, Ontario, 12. Saint John's, Newfoundland & Labrador, 13. Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Québec 14. Shawinigan, Québec, 15. Sydney, Nova Scotia, 16. Toronto, Ontario, 17. Transcona, Manitoba, 18. Victoria, British Columbia, and 19. West Vancouver, British Columbia.
See also Storage battery cars.
Via Rail Canada, Inc., Canada's national passenger railway, offers commuter fares (monthly
and ten-round-trip passes) for many station pairs.
Via's list is available here (2015).
Notes on Via's service can be found under Montréal, Ottawa, and Toronto.
5.2 Interurban Electric Railways
1. Brantford,
2. Chatham,
3-4. Galt [Cambridge] – Kitchener,
5. Temiskaming Shores,
6-9. Hamilton,
10. Hull [Gatineau],
11-12. London,
13. Montréal,
14. New Glasgow,
15. Niagara Falls,
16. Québec,
17. St. Catharines – Niagara Falls,
18. Sydney,
19. Thunder Bay‡,
20-21. Toronto,
22. Vancouver,
23. Victoria,
24-25. Windsor,
26. Winnipeg, and
26. Woodstock.
For a more detailed tabulation, see separate list.
This is based on the canonical list of Canadian interurban electric railways, as determined by John F. Due (see References). Other authors (notably William D. Middleton) writing from a less rigorous definition include a variety of suburban streetcar lines with interurban characteristics. Among these are: Calgary [Ogden and Bowness Park lines], Winnipeg [St. Norbert and SRT lines], Sudbury [Copper Cliff line], Ottawa [Britannia line], Montréal [MP&I and MT lines], and Québec [QC and Kent House lines].
‡ The Mount Mckay & Kakabeka Falls Railway was leased, electrified and operated by the Fort William city system 1923-1947 which it appears neither Due nor Middleton knew.
Also known as “subway”, “metro”, or “rapid transit”.
During Expo '67 (the 1967 World's Fair) in Montréal, a separate heavy rail rapid transit system, the Expo Express, was operated to transport visitors to the fair site.
Technological modern descendant of the electric street railway,
often featuring very little mixed-traffic street running.
A light rail transit project is in an advanced construction phase in Mississauga . Design work is also underway for light rail in Hamilton, Ontario.
5.5 Electric Street Railways
1. Belleville,
2. Brandon,
3. Brantford,
4. Calgary,
5. Cornwall,
6. Edmonton,
7. Fort William,
8. Glace Bay,
9. Guelph,
10. Halifax,
11. Hamilton,
12. Hull [Gatineau],
13. Kingston,
14. Kitchener – Waterloo,
15. Lethbridge,
16. Lévis,
17. London,
18. Moncton,
19. Montréal,
20. Moose Jaw,
21. Nelson,
22. New Westminster,
23. Niagara Falls,
24. North Sydney – Sydney Mines,
25. North Vancouver,
26. Oshawa,
27. Ottawa,
28. Peterborough,
29. Port Arthur,
30. Québec,
31. Regina,
32. St. Catharines,
33. Saint John,
34. St. John's,
35. St. Stephen,
36. St. Thomas,
37. Sarnia,
38. Saskatoon,
39. Sault Ste. Marie,
40. Sherbrooke,
41. Sudbury,
42. Sydney,
43. Toronto,
44. Trois-Rivières,
45. Vancouver,
46. Victoria,
47. Welland,
48. Windsor,
49. Winnipeg, and
50. Yarmouth.
For a more detailed tabulation, see separate list.
5.6 Animal Street Railways
In most
cases the use of animal power on street railways in Canada included the use
of sleighs in winter. In some cities omnibuses were routinely used to
provide service during the Spring thaw.
1. Belleville, 2. Brantford, 3. Chatham, 4. Halifax, 5. Hamilton, 6. Kingston, 7. Kitchener – Waterloo, 8. London, 9. Montréal, 10. Niagara Falls, 11. Ottawa, 12. Québec, 13. St. Catharines, 14. Saint John, 15. St. Thomas, 16. Sarnia, 17. Toronto, 18. Windsor, and 19. Winnipeg.
For a more detailed tabulation, see separate list.
Common carrier public passenger transport in an urban area using replica or restored antique
street railway cars.
Electric buses powered from overhead wires.
For a listing of electric trolleybus systems in Canada, the United States of America, and Mexico, see All-Time List of North American Trolleybus Systems.
The universal technology of urban public transit in Canada in the 20th century. Every
community in the All-Time List of Canadian Transit Systems with local transit
service has been served by buses, except perhaps St. Stephen, New
Brunswick, and sufficient research will probably uncover local bus service there too.
Early known examples of motor bus transit include
Montréal – Saint-Lambert in 1904,
Calgary in 1907, and
Leamington in 1910.
The earliest existing transit [streetcar] company to implement a bus service was
Brantford in 1916.
1. Belleville, Ontario, 2. Brandon, Manitoba, 3. Centre Wellington, Ontario, 4. Corner Brook, Newfoundland & Labrador, 5. Creighton Mine, Ontario [Greater Sudbury], 6. Hamilton, Ontario, 7. Lockport, Manitoba, 8. London, Ontario, 9. Owen Sound, Ontario, 10. Montréal, Québec, 11. Ottawa, Ontario, 12. Saguenay, Québec, 13. St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador, 14. St. Thomas, Ontario, 15. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 16. Toronto, Ontario, 17. Transcona, Manitoba, 18. Vancouver, British Columbia, 19. Vancouver – New Westminster, British Columbia, 20. Vernon, British Columbia, 21. Victoria, British Columbia, 22. Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Private automobiles organized as a commercial service to provide rides to the public reappeared in 2012 as Uber.
Several small communities, including a large number of rural localities in some provinces, have in recent years implemented forms of public transit service using techniques such as demand-responsive minibuses, shared-ride taxis, and coordination of travellers with existing services (including putting passengers on school buses and coordinating ride sharing, volunteer drivers, and carpooling). Some of these approaches can also be found as part of services in larger communities where areas or periods of low demand exist.
The All-Time List of Canadian Transit Systems tries to list those systems that are open to everyone, and operate at least some scheduled service (even if advanced booking is required). A few transit services whose sole function is to put riders into others' vehicles are listed under Québec Rural Paratransit Services.
Application of private right-of-way using motor buses. The term “BRT” (Bus Rapid Transit) encompasses a wide range of technologies from conventional on-street/mixed traffic express bus service, to enhanced bus stops, bus-only lanes, signal pre-emptions, or
private road infrastructure with elaborate stations. In the context of the All-time List of Canadian Transit Systems
“motor bus busway” is intended to designate private right-of-way rapid bus service which includes stations.
The Toronto example listed below (and illustrated left) does not have stations, but is of substantial length.
Animal drawn buses. (Commonly horses, possibly mules and probably not oxen in Canada.)
Since this transit technology was used in Canada almost
exclusively in the 19th Century, before the regulation or franchising of
over-the-road commerce, records of omnibus services are far from complete.
It was common practice in the animal street railway era to use omnibuses in spring after the snow melted but before the ground was dry enough to operate the railway.
1. Beamsville, Ontario
2. Beauport, Québec,
3. Boischâtel, Québec,
4. Bowmanville [Durham Region], Ontario,
5. Brighton, Ontario,
6. Calgary, Alberta,
7. Cap-Rouge, Québec,
8. Charlesbourg, Québec,
9. Deseronto, Ontario,
10. Edmonton, Alberta,
11. Elora [Centre Wellington], Ontario,
12. Fort William [Thunder Bay], Ontario,
13. Goderich, Ontario,
14. Halifax, Nova Scotia,
15. Madoc, Ontario,
16. Midland, Ontario,
17. Milverton, Ontario,
18. Montmorency, Québec,
19. Montréal, Québec,
20. New Waterford, Nova Scotia,
21. Norwich, Ontario,
22. Oakville, Ontario,
23. Orillia, Ontario,
24. Orono [Durham Region], Ontario,
25. Ottawa, Ontario,
26. Owen Sound, Ontario,
27. Picton, Ontario,
28. Port Hope, Ontario,
29. Québec, Québec,
30. Ridgetown [Chatham–Kent], Ontario,
31. St. Catharines, Ontario,
32. Sainte-Foy, Québec,
33. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,
34. Sillery, Québec,
35. Smiths Falls, Ontario,
36. Teeswater, Ontario,
37. Toronto, Ontario,
38. Victoria, British Columbia,
39. Walkerton, Ontario,
40. Welland, Ontario,
41. Windsor, Ontario,
42. Wingham, Ontario, and
43. Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Called “incline railways” almost everywhere in Canada.
* A British military incline railway at Québec (1823 - 1840s) reportedly also carried the public.
Water barriers create a specific local transportation need, and ferries and
other marine transportation is the solution at places and times
where a bridge is not possible or practical. While a few services are obviously urban
transit (for example the seabus in Vancouver and the Dartmouth ferry), there
is a large grey area, especially historically, where boats play or played
a role in getting people from place to place in an urban area.
Other ferry services are noted for
See separate list.
The Cornwall Electric Railway Society (1949-1952) preserved one Cornwall streetcar and operated it over the then freight-only trackage of the Cornwall Street Railway, Light and Power Company, Limited. The group disbanded in 1952 and the car was transferred back to the CSRL&P (Clegg & Lavalée 2007 pp. 57-61).
In the 1920's and 1930's three Canadian mainline railways,
Canadian National Railways,
Canadian Pacific Railway Company, and
Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway
operated storage battery cars on several lines. In most of these
cases service never approached interurban levels, nor were they considered
separate from the railways' steam-hauled services. The largest user, the CNR,
had retired all its storage battery cars by 1942. (Photo: CN Images of Canada: Canada Science and Technology Museum)Canadian National Railways (16 May 1921 - circa 1942)
Canadian Pacific Railway Company (? - ?)
Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway (? - ?)
The Ontario Southern Railway was also operated by storage battery. Martin also lists the Toronto – Guelph line of the interurban Toronto Suburban Railway as receiving battery cars in 1924, but other traction historians disagree (Martin, RFC).