Ontario Northland Railway - Passenger Trains

Passenger Trains

ONR operates the following passenger services:

• Northlander from Cochrane to Toronto, 6 days/week year-round. The ONTC announced plans to discontinue the Northlander and replace it with bus service. The final train run took place on 28 September 2012.
• Polar Bear Express from Cochrane to Moosonee, 5 days/week year-round and 6 days/week in summer. This is a flag stop train. The Ontario government has stated its intention to preserve this service even as the ONTC winds down, saying that it will "develop... a new model to provide ongoing support for essential transportation services, such as the Polar Bear Express."
• Dream Catcher Express from North Bay to Temagami, an early fall excursion service. No specific announcement has been made on the future of this service.

In June 2007 the Polar Bear Express was expanded from a seasonal excursion service to a year-round passenger train, replacing the Little Bear mixed freight/passenger train which had operated 3 days/week. The new train does carry some equipment not commonly found on passenger trains including chain cars (flat cars) for passenger vehicles and boxcars.

Passenger trains operate over a single track route and the Northlander sometimes arrives late at either Toronto or Cochrane as a result of freight train congestion. Southbound passengers on the Northlander are recommended to have a time buffer for any transfers to other trains at Union Station.