Mackenzie Northern Railway

The Mackenzie Northern Railway (AAR reporting mark: MKNR) is a 602 mile Canadian railway operating in Alberta and the Northwest Territories. It is the northernmost trackage of the contiguous North American railway network.

History

The federal government built the Mackenzie Northern Railway (then known as the Great Slave Railway) north from the Northern Alberta Railways at Grimshaw, Alberta to the southern shores of Great Slave Lake at Hay River, Northwest Territories starting in 1961, opening in 1964. The line was built to serve as a means to forward supplies to the new port facilities at Hay River, from which cargo and passengers could be transported by barge across Great Slave Lake and down the Mackenzie River and along the shores of the Beaufort Sea.

The railway's operation was entrusted to CN in 1966, which had been operating the line since it opened. The line also continued east from Hay River, NWT, along the south shore of Great Slave Lake, to a mine at Pine Point. This section was abandoned in 1992 once concentrate shipments from the closed mine ceased. Total mileage in the Northwest Territories from the border with Alberta to Hay River, NWT is approximately 80 miles.

Between November 1997 and May 1998 CN sold its lines running from Smith, AB to Peace River and Grimshaw, AB and on to Hay River, NWT to shortline operator RailLink under the name Makenzie Northern Railway. RailLink was subsequently purchased by RailAmerica. The portion between Smith and Grimshaw is the former Northern Alberta Railways, whereas the portion north of Grimshaw is the former Great Slave Railway.

Commodities include agriculture and forest products from northeastern Alberta and the southern Northwest Territories, as well as fuel and supplies destined for Arctic communities to be barged across Great Slave Lake and down the Mackenzie River to the Beaufort Sea.