Sign in

Private company

Southern Railway of British Columbia

Canadian short line railway branded as SRY Rail Link

The Southern Railway of British Columbia, branded as SRY Rail Link (reporting mark SRY) is a Canadian short line railway operating in southwestern British Columbia. The main facility is the port at Annacis Island with major import of cars, export of forestry products, and other shipments. The railway has interconnections with three Class I railroads, including Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Canadian National (CN) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF).2 It is part of Washington Group International.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1989Founded1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Southern Railway of British Columbia (14152126255)
Photo: Mike from Vancouver, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

The Southern Railway of British Columbia, branded as SRY Rail Link (reporting mark SRY) is a Canadian short line railway operating in southwestern British Columbia. The main facility is the port at Annacis Island with major import of cars, export of forestry products, and other shipments. The railway has interconnections with three Class I railroads, including Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Canadian National (CN) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF). SRY operates 29 locomotives, mostly consisting of EMD (8) GP-9 locomotives, (3) MP15 locomotives, and (12) SW900 locomotives. SRY also currently rosters 2 SD38-2s, 1 SD38AC and 1 SD35. Additionally, SRY formerly rostered 4 GMD1s. The railroad also operates a fleet 2,000 rail cars, hauling approximately 65,000 carloads annually. SRY operates around 123 miles (198 km) of track, 62 miles (100 km) of which is mainline track. SRY operates in New Westminster, British Columbia, and runs on the Fraser Valley Subdivision to Chilliwack, British Columbia.2

Corporate structure

Southern Railway of British Columbia is part of a group headed by Washington Group International. 3 entities, 2 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

Built from subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0); major holders from Schedules 13D and 13G. Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

The Government of British Columbia sold the railway to the Itel Rail Group in 1988. The railway was renamed the Southern Railway of British Columbia. The line was originally built in 1910 as the British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER), an interurban trolley service for passengers (until 1950s) as well as for freight such as farm produce. The railway was taken over by Crown corporation BC Hydro in 1961, and was known as the BC Hydro Railway. In 1988 freight rights, rolling stock and rails were sold to Itel of Chicago with protected passenger rights at no cost. In 1994, it was bought by Washington Group International but kept the SRY name. The Washington Group has since merged with URS.

To this day the provincial government and BC Hydro retain the right to reintroduce passenger service. In recent years, with congestion and growing environmental concerns, there has been increasing demand for this service, and willingness to pay, from persons wishing to travel among Fraser Valley communities other than by private automobile. In 2019, the South Fraser Community Rail campaign was being launched, promoted by former BC premier Bill Vander Zalm and former Langley mayor Rick Green, to resurrect passenger service to Chilliwack using the former BCER right-of-way. The proposed light-rail line would be 103 km (64 miles) long.

From Wikipedia’s article on Southern Railway of British Columbia, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded BC Hydro Railway1

Timeline

  1. 1989Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4