Tshiuetin Rail Transportation

Tshiuetin Rail Transportation
Reporting mark TSH, TSHX
Locale Labrador, Quebec
Dates of operation 2005–
Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Headquarters Schefferville, Quebec
Map showing the rail line between the two red points. Schefferville is at the top, Emeril Junction is at the bottom.

Tshiuetin Rail Transportation Inc. (reporting mark TSH) (formerly TRT) is a Canadian regional railway that stretches 134 miles (217 kilometres) through the wilderness of western Labrador and northeastern Quebec. It connects Emeril Junction, Labrador with Schefferville, Quebec on the interprovincial boundary. The company is owned by the Innu Nation of Matimekush-Lac John, the Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach, and the Innu Takuaikan Uashat mak Mani-Utenam.

History

The railway formally began operations on December 1, 2005 with the conclusion of an agreement between the three owners of Tshiuetin Rail Transportation and the owners of the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway, Rail Enterprises Incorporated and Iron Ore Company of Canada. This agreement, finalized in the fall of 2005, saw QNSX sell its Menihek Subdivision, for the nominal sum of $1.00 (CAD).

Tshiuetin Rail Transportation took possession of the Menihek Subdivision "as is, where is". The company provides all passenger rail and limited freight service. The company will also provide passenger rail service on the remaining QNSX-owned line running from the port of Sept-Îles, QC to Emeril Jct, NL (and on to Schefferville, QC).

The Menihek Subdivision was originally part of the QNSX main line, constructed between 1951 and 1954. After mining activity in Schefferville ended during the 1980s, QNSX shifted its priority to the Sept-Îles, QC to Labrador City, NL line, and the Emeril Jct, NL to Schefferville, QC line saw limited freight and subsidized passenger service for the remaining First Nations communities in the region.

The agreement between IOC and the three First Nations who own Tshiuetin Rail Transportation Inc. has resulted in the first aboriginal ownership of a railway line in Canada.

This railway (along with the QNSX line, ARND, and WABL) form an isolated railroad network, as it does not interchange with any other rail lines on the North American network.


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