Huron Central Railway

Railway in Ontario, Canada

The Huron Central Railway is a railway operating in northern Ontario, Canada. It is operated by Genesee & Wyoming Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. The Huron Central Railway was established in July 1997 to operate a 173 mile (278 km) route leased from the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) between Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The lease agreements encompass all but 4.8 mile (8 km) of
track at the Sudbury end of the 181.2 mile (292 km) line, known within the CPR as the Webbwood Subdivision, as well as the 3 mile (5 km) Domtar Spur, which branches
southwest from the Webbwood Sub at McKerrow. The CPR retains running rights over about 22 mile (35 km) of track at the east end of the Webbwood Subdivision, and the HCRY has running rights all the way into Sudbury. Coil steel manufactured by Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie and freight from the Domtar paper mill at Espanola account for 80% of freight traffic, though carloadings have decreased in subsequent years. The route has variable topography and parallels Ontario Highway 17 for much of its length.

Ultimately, Canadian Pacific would construct lines along both the northern inland and the southern lakeshore routes. At first, however, the company decided in favour of the southern route for its mainline, where the water route through Lake Superior was set to begin, and which was more accessible through existing means of transportation. Worthington also placed a junction and construction camp at a place nearby, which he named Sudbury.

The competing Algoma Eastern Railway was built in 1914 by the Sault Ste. Marie based Lake Superior Corporation, which served a more primarily industrial corridor largely north of the CPR line in the east, though it did operate some passenger services. The decline along the eastern portion of the line was exacerbated by the Worthington mine disaster in 1927, when a mine shaft collapse destroyed a portion of the town of Worthington along with approximately 500 feet (152 m) of Canadian Pacific track, forcing the railway to permanently relocate its line around the crater left by the collapse as well as briefly rerouting its traffic along the Algoma Eastern line.

Starting in the 1920s, efforts were made to build a modern highway connecting Sudbury with Sault Ste. Marie. This route had been surveyed along with the rail line in the late 19th century, and was displayed on some maps as the "Trunk Road", which a number of pioneer roads and industrial access roads connected onto. It also incorporated portions of old trails and portage routes, such as the one running parallel to the Serpent River. The railway had been asking the provincial government since 2006 for funding to improve track conditions, and in April 2009, Genesee & Wyoming warned that, due to the ever deteriorating track and the resulting increased operational costs, it would be forced to shut down the railway, unless the provincial government would provide money with which to undertake the necessary upgrades. On June 15, 2009, Genesee & Wyoming announced that the railway's operations would be discontinued by October and that 45 people would be laid off. Due to the economic downturn, it suffered a significant reduction in carload volume (down by almost 50% from the previous year) which rendered the line insolvent. This announcement, however, triggered a series of negotiations between the HCRY, the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Essar Steel Algoma, and Domtar in order to keep the rail line open. A temporary agreement was reached which provided $15.9 million to cover operating expenses and maintain service until August 15, 2010. On September 24, 2010, $33 million in funding was announced for the rehabilitation of the railway, with the provincial and federal governments each contributing $15 million and Genesee & Wyoming making up the remaining $3 million. Work began on August 10, 2011, with contracts going to Swift Contractors for tie replacement and track surfacing and M'Anishnabek Industries (a joint venture between B&M Metals of Sudbury and Serpent River First Nation) for ballast distribution. Work continues through summer 2012. In May 2018, G&W announced that operations would cease by the end of 2018, citing a lack of provincial funding. Temporary funding was secured, but in October 2019, G&W announced the line would close in early 2020. In early 2020, it was announced that G&W itself was being sold to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and GIC Private Limited, the latter of which is the country of Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. Not long after this, in February, the closure of the Huron Central was officially postponed pending the possibility of further bailouts from the provincial and federal governments. With no further government funds, G&W announced in September 2020 that the railway would be shut down on December 18, filing official notice to do so. In October, layoff notices were issued to all 43 railway employees, to take effect after the end of operations. It was announced on December 11, 2020, that due to on going negotiations with the Canadian federal government and the province of Ontario, that the deadline to close the line would be extended to June 30, 2021. All present employees with lay off notices, have had their notices rescinded for the time being. G&W rescinded its plans to end its operation of the Huron Central Railway in the end of May 2021, following agreements with the provincial and federal governments to support the company via Transport Canada's National Trade Corridors Fund.

The most notable derailment on the line, the 1910 Spanish River derailment, occurred when the line was still operated by Canadian Pacific. A westbound Soo Express passenger train derailed while crossing the Spanish River bridge near Nairn, causing the deaths of 44 passengers and crew. On June 12, 2006, 15 cars carrying generators derailed near Webbwood. No injuries were reported, and no dangerous materials were involved, but a small brush fire had started from the derailment. The fire was later put out by the Sables Spanish Rivers Fire Department. On April 14, 2014, three locomotives and one flatcar were derailed likely due to collapsing infrastructure at milepoint 30 (about 3 km from Nairn Centre). There were no injuries; however, the spilled diesel from the locomotives required the issue of a drinking water advisory for the small community. The locomotives that derailed were QGRY 800, QGRY 3800, and HCRY 3011. QGRY 800 made it over the washout and sat upright with its rear truck off the tracks, QGRY 3800 ended up off the track and rolled onto its side, while HCRY 3011 remained upright, but sitting on its fuel tank at a 90° angle to the track with its rear truck hanging by the electrical cables. On June 13, 2015, 15 cars left the tracks near Fairbanks Provincial Park in Worthington, which spilled steel coil. Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca requested a meeting with the federal Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt about rail safety in Ontario following the derailment. On November 1, 2015, 13 cars jumped the tracks near Spanish. There were no dangerous goods and no injuries. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada released a report two years later on March 8, 2017, citing drainage issues and rail joint defects as the cause of the derailment. On January 1, 2017, 13 cars carrying steel coil derailed near Blind River. No injuries were reported, and no hazardous materials were involved during the derailment. The line was closed due to the incident until January 5.