The Ontario Northland Railway is featured alongside Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway in a new Canadian TV series airing on the Discovery network.
An eight-part series, “Rocky Mountain Railroad” will premiere Monday, March 5 at 10 p.m. and feature stories of railroad crews battling tough winter weather and rough terrain.
“We’re excited for the series to air so we can share the complexity of our day-to-day operations between Cochrane and Moosonee with viewers around the world,” said Ontario Northland president Corina Moore in a release.
“We expect the series will increase awareness about Ontario Northland and our remarkable impact to the region, while showcasing the skills of our employees.”
Jodie Nichols, a rookie conductor from North Bay, will be featured on the series. She is the third generation of her family to work for the Ontario Northland Railway, after her father and great-grandfather.
Nichols attended the Railroad Conductor Program at Confederation College in Thunder Bay. In 2016, she landed a position as a conductor trainee for the ONR.
The first of the eight, hour-long episodes features Moosonee resident George Ross, who relies on Ontario Northland to deliver firewood to customers in Moose Factory.
Upcoming episodes will feature Cochrane's Polar Bear Habitat, Moose Factory’s High Ridge singers, hockey teams travelling to the Little Native Hockey League (LNHL) tournament, and the delivery of modular homes to remote communities on the James Bay Coast.
“This series demonstrates how important our freight and passenger service is to the North,” Moore said.
More than 57,000 people travelled on the Polar Bear Express last year.
