Grand River Railway
| Reporting mark | GRNR |
|---|---|
| Locale | Ontario |
| Dates of operation | 1914–1931 |
| Predecessor | Galt, Preston and Hespeler Street Railway Berlin, Waterloo, Wellesley and Lake Huron Railway |
| Successor | Canadian Pacific Electric Lines |
| Electrification | Yes |
| Headquarters |
The Grand River Railway (reporting mark GRNR) was an electric railway in what is now the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, in Southwestern Ontario. It was an example of a radial railway.
The system initially began as the Galt, Preston and Hespeler electric railway in 1894, first connecting Preston and Galt. The project was spearheaded by Matthew Kirkwood who became the first general manager. More specifically, there was also another company, the Preston & Berlin Street Railway which merged with the Galt, Preston and Hespeler electric railway in 1908. Some sources indicate that the merged entity was initially called the Berlin, Waterloo, Wellesley & Lake Huron Railway Company.
In 1911, the line reached Hespeler, Berlin (later called Kitchener) and Waterloo. In 1914, the company was incorporated as the Grand River Railway. By 1916, the service extended to Brantford/Port Dover.
In 1931, the Lake Erie and Northern Railway, another CPR subsidiary, was consolidated with the GRR to form the Canadian Pacific Electric Lines. CPEL ended operations on October 1, 1961 when freight service was dieselized and assumed by parent CPR.
The CPEL ended passenger services on April 23, 1955, and most passenger service was replaced with buses.
The electric rail system ended passenger services in April, 1955.
A remnant of the GRR/CPEL line remains an active rail corridor in the 21st century as CPR operates an industrial spur to reach a Toyota automobile factory in north Cambridge.
In 2000, the Grand River Railway's name was echoed in the creation of Grand River Transit to unify bus services in the Region of Waterloo.
The Light rail rapid transit in Waterloo Region plan, in the 1990s and later, would be reminiscent of the original Electric Railway. The LRT between Conestoga Mall in Waterloo and Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener will start in early 2018. A second phase extension of the LRT to Cambridge has also been approved but in February 2017, this was still in the public consultation stage. The LRT's proposed path includes routing along portions of the old Grand River Railway.
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