Following the evident success of railways in Britain and the United States, Canada experienced a “Railway Boom” through the second half of the 1800’s. A wide variety of independent railway companies cropped up across the country, each offering passenger and freight service. The creation of our first transcontinental railway was instrumental in Canada’s independence. Just like the rest of the country, the railways brought industries and settlers to Toronto and its surroundings. By the turn of the 20th century many of Toronto’s railway companies would merge together, often as an opportunistic means of reducing competition. Eventually all of the smaller companies would be merged into one of the two major freight railways that serve Canada today: Canadian National and Canadian Pacific.

A variety of factors which included the mass adoption of automobiles and air travel in the postwar era contributed to the abandonment of a vast number of railway lines across Canada over the course of just a few decades. The lines that remained in service in the Toronto area would often see reduced service during this period, particularly in the realm of passenger trains. The service that remained was eventually picked up by provincial agencies like GO Transit in 1967 or federally managed VIA Rail Canada just over a decade later. Some of the province’s abandoned lines were lucky enough to be included in the “railbanking” initiatives of the past five decades, turning them into recreational trails that preserve the right-of-way in case the demand for rail service returns. Others have been completely obscured by encroaching wilderness, farmland, or housing developments.

If you live within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), there is a chance you could be unknowingly living in the vicinity of an abandoned railway line. Below you can find information on the railway companies that served the GTA from their formation to the present day.

Note: Pages covering some railways are currently being written and cannot be viewed by the public at this time.

Transcontinental Railways:

Local Railways: