TheKawartha Lakes Railway is a Canadian rail line. It was created in 1996 (29 years ago) (1996) to assume the operations of the Havelock and Nephton Subdivisions of theCanadian Pacific Railway which serve thePeterborough, Ontario area.
The line originally had 19 employees and it is now aCanadian Pacific internalshortline railway, with a unique collective agreement and employee-managed operation.[1]
Originally built by theOntario and Quebec Railway, which was leased by the CPR for 99 years, the Havelock Subdivision originally began atGlen Tay. In fact, the mile posts on this route are still measured in miles from Glen Tay. The section between Glen Tay and Havelock was abandoned in stages until the present mileage remains: Mile 90.8 near Havelock westward to Mile 182.4 which is the junction with the CP Belleville Sub at Kennedy in Toronto. The Nephton Subdivision extends from Mile 94.4 west of Havelock to Blue Mountain, a distance of twenty track miles. Crews are based atHavelock and Peterborough. Havelock crews run trains toToronto Agincourt Yard and return (formally Train 90/91 and later T07/08 now known as H07/08) as well as to Blue Mountain via Nephton and back. The railway primarily serves thenepheline syenite mines owned byUnimin Canada at Blue Mountain andNephton.[2] This line also served the former3M plant east of Havelock. Other customers are served by Peterborough-based crews includingQuaker Oats, CanadianGeneral Electric, and formerly United Canadian Malt, Kingdon Lumber/TIM-BR MART, and Poly Tubes receives plastic pellets by rail within the City of Peterborough. Waste product fromQuaker Oats is also offloaded at Harper road and elevated into trucks for use in wood stove pellet production. As well, Cavan Agri Products receives carloads of grain, feed, and potash at Cavan.
The method of control is Rule 105 from the end of track east of Havelock to the begin/end main track sign just west of Havelock, Occupancy Control System (OCS) from the begin/end main track sign to Mile 178 just outside Toronto Yard. Beyond Toronto Yard, the Havelock Sub is CTC to the junction with the CP Belleville Sub. The entire Nephton Sub is under OCS. In the 1980s CN abandoned its operations in the area, and KLR has assumed their customers and two sections of remaining CN trackage, including a swing bridge, within the city of Peterborough. In September 2012, Canadian Pacific announced that it were considering closing the formerGrand Junction Railway of Canada/CN spur because of deteriorating condition of the track and swing bridge. The line is currently locked off by Engineering services due to bridge condition, which would leave the businesses in the south end Industrial section such as Poly Tubes without rail service. The former CN spur that also serves United Canada Malt was locked off and closed in October 2014. The City of Peterborough is buying the former CN lines, as well as the section crew office on Rink St., for use as recreational trails once the abandonment process is finalized.
During the 1990s,GE Capital ran a rail car repair centre on the south side of the Havelock rail yard at the old CP roundhouse location. CP crews brought cars in from Toronto for repairs and shipped them out when they were finished. The location is now the current office for local section and rail crews since GE closed the shop, and thetrain station was sold off.
The former Canadian Pacific station, next to the Havelock rail yard, has been restored and operated as a restaurant since 2004.
The train hijacking scene in the 1984 filmMartin's Day was filmed at mile marker 10/Peterborough County Rd. #44 crossing of the Nepthon Subdivision north ofHavelock, Ontario.
With the elimination of passenger service on January 14, 1990, the typical weekly traffic now consists of freights with 3 units consisting of either GP20C-ECOs and or GP38-2s. H08 runs Sun, Tues, Thurs. H07 runs Mon, Wed, Fri. No trains run on Saturday
In 2008, thefederal government announced plans to restart passenger rail service to Peterborough from Toronto. The service would be operated byVia Rail, but it has been estimated that it would carry fewer than 100 passengers per day.[3] Via Rail cited the high cost per passenger that resulted in cancellation of the service in 1990; however, the government of the day had actually decided that Via Rail should serve intercity passengers only and felt that the Havelock traffic clearly belonged to the commuter market serviced by GO Transit.[4] GO Transit has a contingency plan for establishing rail service to Peterborough but also has studies and plans that cover a range of eventualities including electrifying the entire Lakeshore route and service to Collingwood, Ontario.
In 2011, a group named the Shining Waters Railway was established with the goals of inheriting the Kawartha Lakes Railway's two subdivisions, the Havelock and Nephton from CP Rail to continue freight service and even resume passenger rail service from Toronto to Peterborough and beyond (in a partnership withGO Train,VIA Rail, or another partner).[5]
In 2025, theAlto high-speed rail project was announced by the Canadian government. It will provide passenger service connecting Peterborough with Toronto and Ottawa.