Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway

Infobox SG rail
railroad_name=Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway
logo_size=114
old_gauge=
logo_filename=Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway herald.pnglocale=Labrador / Quebec
start_year=1954
end_year=present
hq_city=Sept-Îles, Quebec
marks=QNSL
metric=1The Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway (AAR reporting mark: QNSL) is a Canadian regional railway that stretches 414 kilometres (261 miles) through the wilderness of northeastern Quebec and western Labrador. It connects Labrador City, Labrador with the port of Sept-Îles, Quebec on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. QNSL is owned by the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC).

History

Built between 1951 and 1954, the QNSL originally connected the port of Sept-Îles, Québec on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River with the northern terminus at IOC's mining community of Schefferville, Quebec, a distance of 573 km (359 miles). In 1958, the Wabush ore body near Labrador City was opened by both IOC and the Wabush Mining Company. QNSL built a 58 km (36 mile) line to serve these mines, running west from the Sept-Îles, QC-Schefferville, QC main line at Emeril Junction, NL to Carole Lake, NL, near Wabush, NL. Service on this branch began in 1960.

At the same time, Wabush Mining Co. built the relatively short Wabush Lake Railway from its mines at Labrador City, NL to the QNSL connection at Wabush, NL. QNSL hauls its own traffic from Carol Lake to IOC port facilities at Sept-Îles, QC. QNSL also hauls Wabush Lake Railway traffic from the interchange at Wabush, NL to Arnaud Jct., QC, near Sept-Îles, where it interchanges to the Arnaud Railway, which then completes the journey around Sept-Îles Harbour to Wabush Mining Co. port facilities at Point Noire, QC.

In the 1980s, economic conditions favoured the closing of the Schefferville mining operations in favour of iron ore deposits located further to the south near Wabush and most residents relocated to Labrador City. QNSL maintained subsidized passenger and freight service for local First Nations communities along this portion of its system, known as the Menihek Subdivision, until December 1, 2005 when it sold the Emeril Jct, NL-Schefferville, QC rail line to Tshiuetin Rail Transportation for the sum of 1$ CAD.

Currently, this railway, along with the Tshiuetin Rail Transportation line, Arnaud Railway, and Wabush Lake Railway, forms an isolated railroad network, as it does not interchange with any other rail lines on the North American network.

External links

* [http://www.labradorhuntingfishing.com/maps_canada_labrador.htm Map of the QNSL line]
* [http://www.ccnmatthews.com/docs/IOC_colours.pdf Map of the QNS&L and Tshiuetin Rail Transportation lines] PDF file
* [http://www.ccnmatthews.com/docs/factsheet.pdf Fact Sheet detailling the transaction] PDF file
* [http://www.proximityissues.ca/Maps/RAC-2004-QC_sub.pdf Rail Lines of Northern Québec]
* [http://proximityissues.ca/Maps/RAC-2004-NF_sub.pdf Rail Lines of Labrador]