E&N Railway — Vancouver Island

BC · Victoria → Nanaimo

Canada's island railway — built with a coal baron's money, parked in 2011.

Heads up: This is in Canada (British Columbia). The corridor is owned by the Island Corridor Foundation.

Coal baron Robert Dunsmuir built the Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway in exchange for an enormous land grant covering much of southeastern Vancouver Island. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald drove the last spike in August 1886. The Canadian Pacific took over in 1905.

For more than a century the E&N carried coal, lumber and passengers between Victoria, Nanaimo and Courtenay, including VIA Rail's Dayliner. The climb over the Malahat crosses dramatic trestles, including the Niagara Canyon bridge high above Goldstream.

Worn-out track ended all service between Victoria and Courtenay in 2011. The Island Corridor Foundation owns the line, and the Southern Railway of Vancouver Island holds the operating contract. Governments have studied revival, and some land is being returned to First Nations, but for now most of the line sits unused.

⚠️ Before you go: every railroad on this map is private property. A line that looks abandoned may still be owned by a railroad, used to store rail cars, or put back into service at any time — sometimes with no warning. Before going near any track, make sure it's truly abandoned (no recent use, rails not polished, no signals or cars stored on it) and that you're allowed to be there. Never assume a track is dead.

📷 Photos & stories from riders

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