Southern Railway of Vancouver Island

Southern Railway of Vancouver Island

The railway running through Chemainus
Reporting mark	SVI
Locale	Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Dates of operation	Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway 1883-2006, Southern Railway of Vancouver Island 2006–
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Headquarters	Nanaimo, British Columbia

Southern Railway of Vancouver Island (E&N) Malahat

0 km Victoria BC 6 km Esquimalt 10 km Palmer (Ft Victoria) 13 km Langford Tunnel50m 32 km Malahat 40 km Cliffside 42 km Strathcona Lodge 45 km Shawnigan 50 km Cobble Hill 55 km Hillbank 58 km Cowichan 64 km Duncan 68 km Hayward (Drinkwater Road) 82 km Chemainus 93 km Ladysmith 105 km Cassidy 108 km South Wellington 111 km Starks 117 km Nanaimo 124 km Wellington 142 km Nanoose Bay 153 km Parksville(Junction with the Port Alberni branch line) 164 km Qualicum Beach 177 km Dunsmuir 190 km Deep Bay (Gainsburg Road) 203 km Buckley Bay 211 km Union Bay 225 km Courtenay BC

The Southern Railway of Vancouver Island (reporting mark SVI) is 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length, and is one of two remaining railways on Vancouver Island, the other being the Englewood Railway. The railroad runs from Victoria to Courtenay, with a branch line from Parksville to Port Alberni. In 2006, the Island Corridor Foundation acquired the railway's ownership from the Canadian Pacific Railway and RailAmerica.

Both freight service and the crown corporation Via Rail passenger service have been suspended indefinitely due to deferred maintenance on the railroad.

The history of an island railroad and a functioning island railway in perpetuity, started with the colony of Vancouver Island joining British Columbia in 1866, and the Canadian Confederation of 1867, and the incorporation of British Columbia into Canada in 1871. The terms of union required that within two years, the federal government was to start the construction of a railway from the "seaboard of British Columbia" joining the new province and Victoria with the railway system of Canada. On its part, British Columbia was to grant a band of public land of up to 32 kilometres (20 mi) in width along either side of the railway line to the federal government for it to use in furtherance of the construction of the railway. The Pacific terminus of the railway was not specific but the proposed plan would have the railway cross the Rockies by the Yellowhead Pass and reach the BC coast at Bute Inlet. It would cross Sonora Island and Quadra Island and reach Vancouver Island by a bridge across Seymour Narrows. Through the influence of then BC Premier Amor de Cosmos, this plan was adopted by Order in Council by the federal government on 7 June 1873. Two shipments of rail were even delivered to Victoria from the United Kingdom. In 1873, Prime Minister of Canada Sir John A. Macdonald had stated that Esquimalt, British Columbia, the site of a naval base, would be the terminus of the "Pacific Railway". However, both the federal government and the Canadian Pacific Railway placed a low priority on construction of an island railway, as it had low traffic potential and would duplicate an existing steamer service.