August 2026
Before motor vehicles and paved highways made transportation of people and goods easier, railways were the fastest and most efficient method of land transportation. Besides the transportation of people and goods, they helped settle western Canada and unite the country from coast to coast.
As other transportation options became viable, railroads merged, were taken over by bigger railroad companies, or went bankrupt. Numerous rail lines were abandoned to the elements and nature, including the bridges and trestles that carried the trains over rivers and valleys.
The 5-kilometre Don Branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Belleville Subdivision is an abandoned rail corridor running through the east side of Toronto, near the Don River. Built between 1888 and 1893, the line runs north-south from Leaside Junction through the Don Valley, directly to Union Station. Train traffic ended in 2007 and the line was abandoned. The last train to use this track was the annual CP Holiday Train in November 2007.
Metrolinx bought the line in 2008 for possible as a regional traffic corridor. The local community has expressed opposition to this plan, preferring the abandoned line be turned into a linear park similar to The High Line in New York City.
A prominent feature of this rail line is the “Half-Mile Bridge,” even though it’s really only a quart-mile in length, crossing over the Don Valley near the historic Evergreen Brick Works. Built in the 1920s, the 1100 foot long steel trestle bridge stands 75 feet high, replacing an older 1891 bridge to accommodate the heavier trains being used by railways.
It’s not currently known what will become of the abandoned rail line and trestle, but it may yet have a new life as an urban rail trail.
Sources: OKthePK – Public Canadian Railway News, Canadian Pacific Railway CP CPR Don Valley Branch | Flickr, Half-Mile Bridge | Hiking the GTA.
