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| Halton Subdivision | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Operational |
| Owner |  Canadian National Railway |
| Locale | Greater Toronto Area,Ontario, Canada |
| Termini |
|
| Stations | Bramalea Brampton  Mount Pleasant Georgetown |
| Service | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| System | Canadian National Railway |
| Services |  KitchenerSarnia–TorontoCorridor |
| Operator(s) | Canadian National Railway (freight)GO Transit (commuter rail)Via Rail (intercity rail) |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 49.4 mi (79.5 km) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge |
TheCN Halton Subdivision is a majorrailway line inSouthern Ontario, Canada. It is owned and operated by theCanadian National Railway (CN).[1]
The Halton Subdivision is 49.4 miles (79.5 km) long and runs generally northeast–southwest.[2]Milepoint 0 is inVaughan, at the line'sjunction with theCN York Subdivision near CN'sMacMillan Yard.[2] At grade, it runs approximately west–southwest until it crosses over the (underground)Line 1 Yonge–University of theToronto subway at Snider West (milepoint 1.2),[2] just south ofHighway 407 station. It crossesJane Street (which passes under the line using asubway),Highway 400 andWeston Road (which cross over the line with bridges) and Pine Valley Drive and Islington Avenue (which cross under the line with subways). It crosses over theCanadian Pacific Railway'sMacTier Subdivision with aflyover immediately before crossing theHumber River at milepoint 4.3[2] and angling further south. At the municipal border between Vaughan and Toronto, it descends into a tunnel below the intersection ofSteeles Avenue with Martin Grove Road. It retains its slightly sunken character as it is crossed by the formerHighway 27, Albion Road,Highway 427, andIndian Line with bridges, curving slightly further south at Highway 427.[3]
Goreway (milepoint 8.8)[2] marks the beginning of thewye that leads to CN'sBrampton Intermodal Terminal. Exiting the wye, the next significant feature is CN'sMalport Yard at milepoint 9.7.[2] At Torbram (milepoint 10.5)[2] the main line crosses over Torbram Road while alead track curves to the east to meet theWeston Subdivision. The main line curves to the west and meets with the Weston Subdivision at Halwest (milepoint 11.1).[2] These tracks along with the section of the Weston Subdivision between the two junctions form a wye known as Halwest Junction,[4] which straddles the Mississauga–Brampton municipal boundary.[3]
Continuing approximately west by south, the line passes underHighway 407 and Bramalea Road, then reachesBramalea at milepoint 11.6.[2] It passes under Steeles Avenue East immediately west of the station, then over Dixie Road through a heavily industrialized area of Brampton, with numerousindustrial spurs junctioning with the main line. It then passes under West Drive andHighway 410 and over Rutherford Road South and Kennedy Road South. At Peel (milepoint 14.3),[2] the line crosses over Centre Street South and thenEtobicoke Creek, before reaching one of its last remaining level crossings in the Brampton–Mississauga area, at John Street. It then crosses over Queen Street East, Union Street, and Main Street North before arriving atBrampton, which is milepoint 15.4.[2][3]
West of the station, it crosses Mill Street North at grade before reaching adiamond crossing with theOrangeville-Brampton Railway (OBRY) at milepoint 15.6.[2] It crosses over Fletcher's Creek and McLaughlin Road North, then under Chinguacousy Road, Williams Parkway, and Bovaird Drive West, before arriving atMount Pleasant and milepoint 18.9 (Norval, distinct from the community ofNorval to the southwest).[2] After crossing Mississauga Road at grade, it enters farmland, crossing Heritage Road andWinston Churchill Boulevard (which marks the Peel–Halton regional boundary) at grade. It reaches theCredit River at milepoint 22.5,[2] crossing it and passing under Maple Avenue and Mountainview Road North before arriving atGeorgetown, which is milepoint 23.5.[2][3]
Immediately to the west of Georgetown is Silver Junction at milepoint 24.1,[2] which is where the Halton Subdivision connects to the Guelph Subdivision, the latter of which continues on with a slight southerly curve. The Halton Subdivision crosses Main Street North and curves significantly southwards, crossing over Princess Anne Drive, then crossing Trafalgar Road and 17 Side Road at grade to the west of their intersection. It crosses Black Creek, then reachesStewarttown at milepoint 26.4[2] before crossing 15 Side Road at grade immediately west of its intersection with Sixth Line. It curves slightly west, crossing Fifth Line, then reaches Speyside at milepoint 28.0 before crossing Middle Sixteen Mile Creek twice.[2] It crosses Fourth Line at grade, then curves slightly southward, crosses 10 Side Road, and curves east, reaching the municipal boundary between Halton Hills andMilton at a level crossing with 5 Side Road and arriving at Mansewood, which is milepoint 32.3.[2] James Snow Parkway passes over it with a bridge as it passes through an industrial area of Milton, with several industrial spurs.[2] The line passes underHighway 401 and curves to the west, arriving at Milbase, which is milepoint 34.3.[2] It curves east again before crossing over Steeles Avenue East and the Canadian Pacific Railway'sGalt Subdivision,[3] which is CP's mainline connecting Toronto andSouthwestern Ontario.
The line continues southeast through a residential area of Milton, crossing over Main Street West and Derry Road, then under Louis St. Laurent Avenue. Returning to farmland, it crosses Britannia Road at grade and reaches Ash (linked to the planned CN Milton Logistics Hub) at milepoint 39.5.[2] It then crosses Lower Base Line West at grade before curving nearly due south and crossing Tremaine Road at grade. It crosses Side Road 1 (also the Milton–Burlington municipal boundary) at grade, then passes overHighway 407 andBronte Creek, reaching Tansley at milepoint 43.1.[2] Running through a suburban area of Burlington, it passes underDundas Street, then over Sheldon Creek, Appleby Line, the Upper Middle Road, Appleby Creek, Shareacres Creek, and crossing Mainway at grade, curving slightly west. It reaches an industrial area of Burlington, then crosses over Walkers Line and Tuck Creek, continuing to curve west. Nearing its terminus, it runs parallel to theQueen Elizabeth Way, crossing under Guelph Line, North Service Road, and then the Queen Elizabeth Way itself as it curves south and west again, crossing under Plains Road East and over Brant Street to meet the CNOakville Subdivision at Burlington West junction at milepoint 49.4,[2] the southern terminus of the line, which is directly southwest of theBurlington GO station.[3]
The east–west-aligned middle section of the Halton Subdivision was built in the 1850s by theGrand Trunk Railway. Initially a line to the villages ofWeston andGeorgetown west ofToronto, it was extended throughGuelph andKitchener (then known asBerlin) by 1856,[5] then further extended westward toSarnia viaSt. Marys Junction. With the construction of theCredit Valley Railway line throughMilton andGalt, as well as the Grand Trunk's acquisition of theGreat Western Railway, whose east–west mainline (the "South Main Line") ran throughBrantford, this "North Main Line" was soon overshadowed.[5]
The line was used for passenger services from the start, which were usually long-distance trains connecting to points east via Toronto, or points west viaLondon (and further west viaWindsor/Detroit and Sarnia/Port Huron).[5]
After the amalgamation and restructuring of the Grand Trunk into theCanadian National Railways, the line was a part of theCN Brampton Subdivision, which comprised the section of the North Main Line between Toronto andStratford.[6] Its part of the Brampton Subdivision was managed under CN's Stratford Division.[7] In the 1950s–60s, CN began relocating its freight operations to what was then an area north of urban Toronto, which involved the construction of theCN York Subdivision andMacMillan Yard to relocate traffic away from theRailway Lands in downtown Toronto. In 1964–65, the Brampton Subdivision was reorganized, with the eastern part (milepoint 0.0 to 17.0) becoming the Weston Subdivision, the western part (milepoint 30.0 to 88.6) becoming a part of the Guelph Subdivision, and the central part (milepoint 17.0 to 30.0) becoming a part of the Halton Subdivision,[7] running northeast to the newly opened MacMillan Yard.
CN began the first recognizable commuter services along the line in the 1950s between Guelph and Toronto, with one eastbound morning run and a westbound afternoon return.[5]GO Transit rail service along the line began in 1974 and was originally known as the Georgetown line, which is where it terminated.[5] It soon replaced the Guelph–Toronto commuter run, which was discontinued the following year, though this led to a temporary end to commuter rail service to Guelph.[5] By the end of the 1970s, all remaining Canadian National passenger services were either discontinued or transferred to a new crown agency,Via Rail.
The southern section of the Halton Subdivision, between Georgetown and Burlington West, was formerly a part of theHamilton and North-Western Railway. That section of the line opened to traffic around 1876,[8] and at its fullest extent, reached as far as Barrie.[8] The Hamilton and North-Western merged with theNorthern Railway of Canada in 1879 to form the Northern and Northwestern Railway, then became a part of the Grand Trunk conglomerate in 1888, and was inherited with it into the Canadian National Railways in 1923.[9] It became known as theCN Milton Subdivision.[8] With the reorganization of CN lines in the 1960s, the northern section became theBeeton Subdivision, and the southern became a part of the Halton Subdivision.[8] The connection between the two subdivisions at Georgetown was severed and the Beeton Subdivision was eventually shut down completely through successive abandonments starting in 1975.[8]
In 1990, theInternational was re-routed along the North Main Line between London and Toronto, travelling along the central part of the Halton Subdivision. It was one of the last remnants of the Grand Trunk's long-distance express passenger train system, which throughout the 20th century had gradually decayed. With the reorganization of American passenger trains underAmtrak, the train (which previously had run along the South Main Line) was discontinued for a time before being revived as a joint Amtrak–Via Rail operation in the 1980s. The re-routing gave North Main Line communities their first direct international passenger rail service in years, but added an hour to theInternational's travel time.[10] Ultimately, in 2004, theInternational was severed at the border as it had been before its restoration, with its American component remaining as Amtrak'sBlue Water and the Canadian component as the single dailyToronto–Sarnia train operated by Via Rail.[11]
In the mid- to late 2010s, steps began being taken to eliminate one of the last remaininglevel crossings along the line in Peel Region. In a project jointly funded by the cities of Mississauga and Brampton, CN, and Metrolinx, Torbram Road, a major four-lanecollector road connecting Brampton andMalton, would have its level crossings with both the Halton and Weston subdivisions eliminated in favour of subway underpasses under both rail lines. The total cost of the project was estimated at $89.4 million, though project delays led to a budget increase of $10.8 million.[12]
The Halton Subdivision is Canada's fourth busiest rail line by volume of traffic.[citation needed] It is considered a major freight artery which is "important for both CN freight operations and the overall Ontario economy," according to a 2021Metrolinx report.[13] It is used by both freight and passenger trains, though much of the line is used exclusively for freight. The section used for passenger service is an east–west stretch (part of the historic CN North Main Line) running through Brampton and Halton Hills. As of 2021[update], passenger services along the line consist ofVia Rail's dailyintercityToronto–Sarnia train (part of theQuébec City–Windsor Corridor), which stops at theBrampton andGeorgetown railway stations, as well as weekdayregional/commuter trains operating as part ofGO Transit'sKitchener line, which also stop atBramalea andMount Pleasant.[5]
Since the start ofGO Transit rail service in 1974, the frequency of GO trains has gradually increased, especially following service expansions in the 2010s.Metrolinx, the parent agency of GO Transit, proposed a freight bypass in the mid-2010s to create more room in the schedule for additional passenger trains along the existing section of the Halton Subdivision.[14] By 2021, Metrolinx had decided against pursuing the freight bypass in favour of greater co-production with CN in utilizing the existing line.[15] In 2019, boardings at stations on the Halton Subdivision increased from 10,590 to 11,080 per weekday compared to 2018, an increase of5%. 1,140 of these were on newly added train trips.[16]
Major facilities include theMalport Freight Yard inMalton, theBrampton Intermodal Terminal inBrampton, and intersections with several other rail lines, including theOrangeville Brampton Railway.
Located next to the subdivision at 7 Blair Drive (former Debro Steel) isAlstom's final assembly plant forAlstom Citadis Spirit LRVs for theFinch West,Hurontario, andEglinton Crosstown light rail lines.[17]
