Dream Catcher Express

The ''Northlander'' was a passenger train operated by the Ontario Northland Railway in Ontario, Canada.

The ''Northlander'' operated six days per week year-round in both directions and connected Cochrane with Toronto. The train typically consisted of one engine, an auxiliary power unit, two coaches and a cafeteria lounge car. It ran on ONR tracks from Cochrane to North Bay and on CN tracks south of North Bay to Toronto.

In March 2012, the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission announced plans to discontinue the ''Northlander'' and replace it with bus service (Routes 1 and 2). The final train ran on September 28, 2012. To push for the service's restoration, an advocacy group called All Aboard Northern Ontario was formed in October 2017.

Plans to resume rail service

Prior to the 2018 Ontario general election, Doug Ford promised to restore the service. Ontario Northland prepared a business plan and submitted it to the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario in late 2019, and the resumption of the service was mentioned in the province's Draft Transportation Plan for Northern Ontario published in December 2020, although no timeline was provided.

In May 2021, the provincial government announced plans for Ontario Northland and Metrolinx to resume rail operations between Toronto and northeastern Ontario with a 13-stop route to begin service by the mid-2020s. The route would provide service from Toronto to Timmins or Cochrane and would be available between four and seven days a week, based on seasonal travel demands. Two of the proposed stations, Gormley and Langstaff, are not ONR stations from the original Northlander route but they are serving GO Transit Richmond Hill line. Stations south of North Bay to Washago and south of Cochrane would need to be restored as they have either become inactive or adapted for other uses.

In April 2022, Ontario's Progressive Conservative government announced it has earmarked $75 million to restore the Northlander passenger rail service to northeastern Ontario. President and CEO of Ontario Northland Corina Moore said the money will be split over the next three years. She said it will look after passenger coaches, infrastructure and stations. The province said it continues to eye an in-service date of 2025. They said that the service will be offered on seasonal travel demands and will range from four and seven days a week between northern Ontario and Toronto.

On December 15, 2022, The Ontario Government revealed that it had purchased three trainsets from Siemens Mobility for use on the ''Northlander'', each comprising a Charger locomotive and two Venture coaches and a cab car operating in a push-pull configuration on trains between Toronto and Timmins.

Stations

The ''Northlander'' made scheduled stops at the following stations:

Former stations

Service to Barrie and Orillia ended in 1992 when the Northlander was rerouted to the Bala subdivision. Before the former TEE trainsets were retired, Barrie and Orillia were typically served in one direction only to avoid turning the train in Toronto; routing a giant loop around Lake Simcoe. Newer ex-GO Transit cars were bi-directional. That corresponding section of the Newmarket subdivision was abandoned, then tracks removed by the Canadian National Railway in 1996. The old line is now Oro-Medonte Rail Trail, Barrie North Shore Trail and Barrie Waterfront Heritage Trail.

''Dream Catcher Express''

The ''Dream Catcher Express'' was a seasonal passenger rail service that ran annually over a period of six days from the end of September to the beginning of October. It operated between and along the same route as the ''Northlander''.

Train sets consisted of several single deck cars, a dining car, and a dome car.

The service was by reservation only and provided one run per day. Trains departed in the morning and returned in the early evening. The ''Dream Catcher Express'' allowed passengers to view the fall colours in Northern Ontario.

This service, along with the Northlander, ended in 2012.

References

External links

Official Website
for the former Northlander service discontinued in 2012

Northlander Passenger Rail Updates
for the future reinstatement of the Northlander



Northeastern Ontario Rail Network

Committee Promoting Muskoka Rail Travel

Transport Action Ontario

Ontario Northland Railway
Named passenger trains of Ontario
Cochrane, Ontario
Railway services introduced in 1976
Passenger rail transport in Toronto
Rail transport in Simcoe County
Rail transport in the District Municipality of Muskoka
Rail transport in Bracebridge, Ontario
History of rail transport in Parry Sound District
History of rail transport in Nipissing District
Rail transport in North Bay, Ontario
Rail transport in Temagami
Rail transport in Timiskaming District
Transport in Cobalt, Ontario
Transport in Temiskaming Shores
Rail transport in Cochrane District
Transport in Cochrane, Ontario

{{ONT named trains
Railway services discontinued in 2012