Ottawa Valley Railway

Ottawa Valley Railway (reporting mark RLK) is a Canadian railway that operates 150 miles (240 km) of track in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and is owned by Genesee & Wyoming Canada Inc., the Canadian subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming Inc.[1]

Ottawa Valley Railway

RLK #3029 entering the CP Sudbury yard
Overview
Headquarters	North Bay, Ontario
Reporting mark	RLK
Locale	Ontario, Quebec, Canada
Dates of operation	1996 (1996)–Present
Predecessor	Canadian Pacific Railway
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length	150 miles (240 km)
Other
Website	www.gwrr.com/ovr

Cartier Subdivision
CPKC Cartier Subdivision 70.47 Jct CN Bala Subdivision (256.8) 69.2 Jct Falconbridge Spur (0.0) 69.1 Coniston Wanapitei 62.7 Stinson 55.1 Markstay Hagar 42.0 Warren 33.9 Verner 26.5 Cache Bay 23.4 Sturgeon Falls 17.0 Collings 10.5 Beaucage 1.0 Clanachan 0.0 Huard OVR North Bay Subdivision

North Bay Subdivision
OVR Cartier Subdivision 117.3 Huard 116.9 North Bay 115.2 Mile 115.2 CN Newmarket Sub 111.9 ETI Canada spur 111.4 Thorncliff 104.9 Camey 97.4 Bonfield 90.7 Rutherglen 89.3 Columbia Forest Products spur 84.0 Eau Claire 76.9 Morel 71.8 Mattawa OVR Temiscaming Subdivision 70.0 end of steel 65.0 Rankin 56.0 Hodgson 50.3 Deux Rivieres 45.6 Aylen 35.8 Adelard 27.7 Stonecliffe 20.3 Mackey 15.0 Moor Lake 5.3 Wylie 0.0 Chalk River Chalk River Subdivision

Temiscaming Subdivision
40.5 Temiscaming 39.4 Grimmer 38.7 Gordon Creek 32.9 Beauchene 21.0 Crest 12.0 Snake Creek 6.7 Ceramic Ottawa River 0.0 Mattawa OVR North Bay Subdivision

The railroad began operations on 30 October 1996 under the auspices of RaiLink Canada, and fell under the control of RailAmerica after that company bought RaiLink in July 1999.[2][3] It was formed to operate both local trains and through-service Canadian Pacific Railway trains between Sudbury, Ontario and Smiths Falls, Ontario.[3] On July 23, 2012, Genesee & Wyoming Inc. announced that it intended to purchase RailAmerica in a deal valued at $1.39 billion.[4][5] Approval of the purchase was granted by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board on December 19, 2012.[6]

Currently, the OVR operates between Sudbury and Temiscaming, Quebec,[7] reduced from its original routing between Sudbury and Smiths Falls with a branch to Temiscaming.[8]

The rerouting came about as a result of the reduction of both local traffic on the line and through traffic operated by the Canadian Pacific. As traffic was reduced on other CP routes, that railway was able to redirect trains onto its lines through Toronto, and RailAmerica's lease on the line to the east of Petawawa, Ontario ended in December 2009.[3] The OVR continued operating the route between Sudbury and Temiscaming, and in early October 2010, RailAmerica and CP reached a new agreement under which those operations would continue, while CP would continue procedures for ending service to the east of Mattawa.[7] On 3 August 2011, it was announced that the rails between Renfrew and Pembroke, Ontario were planned to be removed by the end of the year, with the remainder of the Mattawa—Smiths Falls route to be removed in following years.[9]

The OVR interchanges with the Canadian Pacific at Sudbury, as well as with the Canadian National Railway at North Bay, Ontario, the Ontario Northland Railroad at North Bay, and the Huron Central Railway at Sudbury.[2]

The railway once hauled around 70,000 carloads a year, the majority of which came from CP's intermodal bridge traffic. The rest of it was self-generated, and included chemicals and forest products.[8] Very little of this traffic came from east of Mattawa.[10] As of 2013, carloadings amount to approximately 8,000 per year.[1]