01x02 - Canada's Journey to the Northern Lights

[bunniefuu]

NARRATOR:
This is Canada's famous VIA Rail train,

carrying passengers on an epic journey
from Winnipeg, way up to Hudson Bay.

The route is also vital for freight.

It's a lifeline, bringing goods to remote
First Nations communities.

Keeping it open requires vigilance, brute
force, and sometimes even fire.

The destination, Churchill,
is known for amazing wildlife.

In summer, beluga whales,
in winter, polar bears,

and in spring, natural wonders.

Filmed from above,
(train whistles)

this series showcases some of the
most incredible railways on Earth.

We'll gain a unique aerial insight
into these remarkable trains

and the extraordinary
landscapes they pass through,

revealing the technology that built them,

and the dedicated people
who keep them running.

We'll uncover the culture, the history,
and the engineering

that makes these the World's
Greatest Train Journeys from Above.

The VIA Rail passenger train
is preparing to leave

on a 1700 kilometer journey,
from the heart of Canada,

up north, towards the Arctic Circle.

Canada is huge.

At almost 10 million square kilometers,
it's the world's second-largest country,

but also one of the
least densely populated.

Very few people live in its remote north.

In the west of Canada rise
the famed Rocky Mountains.

In the east, fishermen used
to supply the world with cod.

And in the middle, the prairies,
the country's breadbasket.

Canada is by far the biggest exporter
of durum wheat in the world.

And it's from one of the
prairie provinces, Manitoba,

that VIA Rail train 693 begins its
journey here in the capital, Winnipeg.

Once part of Canada's 19th
century thriving fur trade,

Winnipeg is now a modern metropolis,

and a major rail hub for trains going
east, west, and north.

At the historic Beaux-Arts Union Station,

passengers are arriving for the
two-day trip to Churchill.

CONDUCTOR:
Alright, so it's gonna be on your left.

Do you need a hand with your bags?

-PASSENGER: No, I think I'm good.
-CONDUCTOR: So, just on your left.

NARRATOR: Andrew Paterson has three
years' experience driving on the route.

ANDREW:
There's a lot of planning involved

and a lot of quick decision making
skills that are required as well,

so it's, yes, technically
pushing buttons, pulling levers,

but there's a lot of
forethought to it as well.

CONDUCTOR (yells): All aboard!

ANDREW:
The weather is the biggest thing,

especially when you get into
the really cold months,

through the minus 40s and wind
chills into the minus 50 temperatures.

(train bell)

NARRATOR: At exactly 12:05, the train
eases out of Winnipeg Station.

At this time of year,

Andrew's biggest challenge is
the state of the rails themselves.

ANDREW:
The roadbed's never really solid.

It does float quite a bit up north,

so you have challenges with a lot
of frost heaves in the winter months.

NARRATOR: Severe winter frosts
can shift the track, making it uneven,

and further north, the ground can be
swampy whenever the weather turns warmer.

Today the weather on route is forecast
to be minus 29, blisteringly cold.

(train horn blares)

CONDUCTOR: On behalf of your service
manager in VIA Rail Canada,

it is our pleasure to welcome you onboard
train number 693, en route to Churchill.

NARRATOR: It's more than 1,600 kilometers
to Churchill on the Hudson Bay.

Along the route are 71 stations.

Passengers can also arrange to be picked
up between stations in remote areas.

Flashing their headlights,

or simply waving at the slow-moving train
as a signal for the driver to stop.

The first leg of the journey
travels across ice-covered flatlands,

once grasslands home to vast herds of
bison. In the early 19th century,

European immigrant farmers discovered
that wheat could be grown here.

The bison were slaughtered, and the
grasslands became Manitoba's prairies.

Within two months, this area
will transform into fields of grain,

a crucial lynchpin
in the Canadian economy.

The railroad to Churchill started
construction in the early 1900s,

after a long campaign by crop farmers

who wanted a quicker route to
export their grain to Europe.

It took nearly 30 years to complete.

From the prairies, the train weaves north

to one of the most beautiful parts of
the province: Lake Manitoba.

It's one of the world's
largest freshwater lakes.

Among the coaches is a panoramic car,
with opportunities for great views.

But the twice-weekly train
is not primary for tourists,

certainly not at the height of winter.

LEAH:
So I'm a Masters student.

I'm doing my research at the
Churchill Marine Observatory.

I'm focusing on detecting oil
and diesel fuel under sea ice,

so my research is gonna help
with reducing the impact

of a diesel spill or an oil spill.

NARRATOR:
Leah's professor, Dustin Isleifson,

is leading the research in Churchill.

ISLEIFSON: It's a little bit of a slower
trip than you'd take from a flight,

but you actually get to see the terrain.

You actually get to see Manitoba
and the land all around you.

NARRATOR:
The train is traveling slowly.

Even though the locomotives are powerful,

their speed rarely exceeds 50
kilometers an hour in the north,

because of potential
problems on the track.

It's so cold that the
metal rails contract,

and ice beneath the tracks
can make them uneven.

The further north the railroad,

the greater the need for constant
inspection and repairs.

Maintenance crews drive specially adapted
trucks able to travel on road or rail.

Small, flanged wheels can
be lowered onto the rails.

It makes it possible to
inspect the tracks,

even in the remotest areas up
north, where there are no roads.

(clattering)

DUSTIN:
It's a tough, tough territory we work in.

NARRATOR: Today, roadmaster Dustin Head
is inspecting the track for damage

caused by severe winter weather.

The extreme cold is
especially challenging,

but in the spring too, the thaw can
make the track unstable.

(rumbling)

He uses a sensor array attached
to the front of the truck,

linked to a computer inside the cab,
to spot problems in real-time.

DUSTIN: It looks like we are
just going through a cross-level

splotch here right now. It just showed up.

NARRATOR:
Cross level means uneven rails.

One side of the rail
is lower than the other,

and that's not good for the trains.

Right now, our east rail is...

two and a quarter inch lower
than the west rail.

If we were to leave this, this is gonna
grow to an even bigger defect.

The east rail will get even
lower, it will continue to sink,

and we'll have a chance
for a derailment of a train,

so we cannot let this sit any longer.
We will have to fix this immediately.

(grunts)

Good evening, guys. We've got a
defect we need lifted urgently.

We've got a southbound passenger train
and way freight coming this evening,

so can we get you guys here
as soon as possible? Over.

OPERATOR (over radio):
As the supervisor just said,

we'll be on our way there to respond.

(radio clicks)

NARRATOR:
Dusk comes early at this time of year,

and as the sky turns
from gold to dark blue,

VIA Rail 693 will make a stop before the
night falls, for a crew change.

Ryan Allman is the driver
taking the train into the night.

RYAN: There's always inherent
challenges, but you've gotta understand,

the headlights that we've got on these
things are about as bright as the sun,

so our vision is actually
surprisingly pretty good.

We can see down the track
for a good extended distance.

NARRATOR: As the train leaves
the station heading north,

the temperature during the night
is predicted to drop to minus 30,

with heavy snow.

Snowdrifts could cover the line,
and even make it impassable.

In the winter time there's safety concerns
out here, especially when it's 50 below.

Definitely could be challenging.

And as you see here, you
can't even see the track.

You don't even know where it is, right?

So, we've gotta make our own trail,
and hopefully not get stuck doing it.

NARRATOR: Manitoba reaches
right up to the Arctic,

and the railway serves the many small
First Nations communities along the line.

The Pas, one third of the way
between Winnipeg and Churchill,

is where freight trains begin their
journey, taking goods up north.

From here right up to Churchill,

both freight train and passenger
train use the same track.

The wagons today are
carrying fuel, food,

and construction materials for
the communities en route,

and jet fuel for the airport at Churchill.

MAN:
That'll do.

NARRATOR: Because the goods are
vital and the journey remote,

nothing is left to chance.

Before hauling a train, locomotives
are thoroughly checked over

here in the maintenance shop of the
Hudson Bay Railway.

The company is majority-owned by the First
Nations communities of Northern Manitoba.

Keeping the trains moving

is the responsibility of mechanical
supervisor Jason Lord and his team.

JASON: Especially in the winter
months, when everything's cold,

that's when the metal and steel
start to break apart more.

NARRATOR: Extreme cold temperatures
increase the wear on wheels.

If they're worn or chipped, they
can cause major damage to the track.

The team has discovered a serious fault
on one of the locomotives' wheels.

JASON: We're doing a wheel change
up that had a couple of shells in it,

so we have to take that out, or we could
potentially crack the wheel even worse,

or have a derailment.
It could happen. It's possible.

NARRATOR:
A shell is a dent in the metal.

The wheel that's damaged is
attached to the drive motor,

so to change the wheel, they're going to
have to change the whole motor assembly.

So, the guys are, right now
they're just dropping out the motor.

We've got one built up in the
traction motor room

that we're gonna be
installing too this morning.

-MECHANIC: Sparky going in.
-MAN: Sparky going in.

NARRATOR: They need to check that the
replacement wheel and motor assembly

is perfectly aligned and secure.

ANDY: We're just tying up a
couple of loose ends on this wheel,

and it'll be ready for back in service.

MECHANIC:
Up a hair.

NARRATOR:
With new drive wheels,

the locomotive is cleared
for the journey north.

Mike Olymer will be its
driver on the first leg,

about a third of the way to Churchill.

He's 75 years old, and has been
working on railroads for 57 years.

MIKE: I have to retire sometime,
and I hate the thought of retiring.

It's just because it's
such an interesting job.

I mean, 75 is a long
time to be running engines.

NARRATOR: Mike's years of
experience mean he has the advantage

of knowing how to deal with the
very worst of winter conditions.

MIKE: I've been in situations where the
weather's been as cold as minus 45,

and instead of being just snow,
it becomes like sand or gravel.

It resists you rolling over
it with great, you know,

it just does, it resists tremendously.

That's a big part of why it's so
difficult to operate trains up here.

NARRATOR: With the remoteness
of much of the journey,

the company takes special precautions to
keep the train running, no matter what.

MIKE: We always have two engines,
simply because if one breaks down,

you've got the other to get
to where you're going.

Very seldom both will break down
at the same time. Very seldom.

Alright, are we ready to go, guys?
It's getting cold out here.

NARRATOR: Loaded and ready to
leave, there's suddenly a problem.

We've got an issue with the engine,
with that breaker kicking all the time.

We also have an issue with the SVU or
the tail-end brake not braking properly,

or not working properly.

(radio chatter)

NARRATOR: The emergency brake on a wagon
near the back of the train has failed.

The wagon won't move.

(alarm rings)

MIKE:
He's working on the tail end.

He says something's not setting
up properly back there.

NARRATOR: Fixing the
wagon is taking too long.

Mark Graham, the train's
conductor, and driver Mike,

eventually decide
to leave it behind.

After a stalled start, the
train is at last moving.

On our way to
Thompson right now.

We just sorted out all the problems we had
this morning, and we're on our way now.

NARRATOR: With the delay,
they're trying to make up time.

Crew working-hours are capped at
a maximum of 12 hours on duty.

They want to get to Thompson,
where a relief crew will be waiting,

before their hours run out.

To stay on schedule, they must ensure
they have two hours still on the clock

when they pass through the interim
station of Wabowden.

(train horn blares)

Yeah, we gotta make it to our terminal in
Wabowden under ten hours,

or we cannot go anymore.

So, we've got about an
hour to play with really.

So, it puts a lot of pressure on us.

OPERATOR (over radio): 995,
your tail end (inaudible)...

brake stuff done, you guys
have a good trip to (inaudible)

NARRATOR:
As the freight train moves north,

the train's conductor Mark knows the
challenges of running a train

in freezing conditions.

The more northerly the
line, the colder it gets.

MARK: In the winter time,
there are safety concerns out here,

especially when it's 50 below.
Definitely can be challenging.

And as you see here, you
can't even see the track.

You don't even know where it is, right?
We're ploughing the track as we go.

They have maintenance and
the equipment to do it,

but because it had snowed last
night, they're not out here yet.

So, we've gotta
make our own trail.

NARRATOR: Mark's fear is getting stuck
in snowdrifts that build up on the rails.

It's man and machine against
nature in the north,

and to keep things safe in this
extreme environment,

every 95 kilometers, they
stop the train to inspect it,

making sure there's no damage
to wheels or bearings,

and that no brakes are locked up.

We're gonna set the brakes on
the train, come to a stop,

and we're just gonna get off,
and then we're gonna pull

the train by and inspect one
side of it, visually inspect it,

by sight, because he's experienced
and he knows what he's looking for.

He's looking for smoking brakes, sticking
brakes, or bearings that are burnt off.

MAN (over radio):
(inaudible) I'm off.

MIKE: See, we're nine miles
an hour right now. You're off.

(train honks)

Now I like to blow the whistle, ring
the bell, when we're back up or whatever.

Whenever this engine
moves, I always do that.

I am backing up the train,
so that he can inspect the bearings

and all the equipment and stuff that
may have fallen down on this train.

If there was a handbrake on here,

you would more or less hear
it squealing, really loud squeal,

brakes would be steaming,
they would be blue.

Same thing if a piston was
stuck out

that didn't release when
you released the brakes.

There'd be a loud squealing as well.

(pressurized hiss)

-Mike, everything looks great.
-MIKE: Yeah?

-MIKE: Let's go.
-MARK (laughs): Come ahead and get us now.

MIKE:
Okay.

Looks good, 'cause he never said
anything about any problems.

He'll tell us that as
soon as he enters the train.

-MARK: We're good to go.
-There you go. Away we go, guys.

(train rumbles)

NARRATOR: Back underway, time is
tight. But there's optimism in the cab.

They're determined to reach
the station at Wabowden

in time to be allowed to
continue through to Thompson.

MARK: It's gonna be very close.
Five minutes, if lucky. Yeah.

(Mike speaks indistinctly)
It's a little close for my be-likings,

but we're gonna do it. We'll make it.

(tense music)

NARRATOR: In a race against
the clock, the crew push the locomotive,

keeping the train
right at the speed limit.

(pressurized hiss)

MIKE: Okay, tail end is inside the, right
now, we're all clear of the (inaudible).

And we have six minutes
left, guys. Six minutes.

NARRATOR: Having made it to
Wabowden just in time,

they're allowed to push on to Thompson.

Mike's long experience has helped bring
the train in safely and on time.

MIKE:
You've gotta know your track.

Half of being a good locomotive
engineer is knowing your track.

The other half is skills from the team
that you work over the years with,

and half of it is you've
gotta know your track.

Good trip.

-MARK: See you guys next time.
-MIKE: Good trip, Mark.

We'll see you soon.
See you next time round, bud.

MARK: You bet.

NARRATOR:
After a break during the night,

tomorrow the freight train
will continue north.

But there's a problem on the track ahead,
and with other trains due to pass,

the maintenance crew, working in extreme
conditions, is under pressure.

DUSTIN:
We've got a south-bound train leaving,

so it's imperative we get
this fixed this evening.

NARRATOR: In Northern Canada,
the VIA Rail passenger train

is heading through Manitoba,
towards the Arctic Circle.

-CONDUCTOR: Good morning.
-PASSENGER: Morning, how are you?

CONDUCTOR: I'm great.
How did you sleep last night?

-PASSENGER: Very well.
-NARRATOR: As morning breaks,

from above it's clear the terrain
has changed dramatically.

The train has entered
Manitoba's Boreal Forest.

The trees here are
pine, spruce, and birch.

The area's home to caribou reindeer.

Among the train's passengers is Heather
Bothello. She's on a big adventure.

Her plan is to get off at Thompson,

collect the snowmobile
she's shipped on the train,

and then drive it 300
kilometers north to Churchill.

HEATHER: I'm expecting it to
be not easy, and that's okay.

And it's gonna be quite warm,
and with warm weather in Churchill

around this time of year,
usually means blizzards.

So, it's kind of on
the back of my mind.

NARRATOR: Heather's idea of
warm weather is minus 18.

A lifelong resident of Churchill,
and a member of the Cree Nation,

she knows what the VIA Rail
passenger train means to her people.

HEATHER: The most important
thing is its affordability,

for people to come and go, and we have a
lot of local people who need that line.

And not for the big adventure
that many of us go on,

but to go see family down the
line, to go grocery shop in Thompson,

to go seek medical services. So,
yeah, it's a big deal. It's huge.

NARRATOR: Further up the line,
roadmaster Dustin Head and his crew

urgently need to fix the track.

The rail on one side has sunk; it's
dangerously lower than the other rail.

DUSTIN: Okay, it's imperative we
get this section of track fixed.

We've got southbound trains
leaving Churchill this evening,

-and way freight coming this evening.
-Let's get at it.

NARRATOR: The land around
here is swampy and unstable.

As temperatures rise and fall,
so does the ground below the rails.

SHANE: This part of track is
always consistently shifting,

and with the conditions we have up
here, it's so tough to build a railway.

(crewmen grunting)

We just need the ties to lift, and if
they do, we can just add the tap.

If not, we're gonna have to pull spikes,
shim it, so we're hoping for the best.

NARRATOR: The crew is using
a jack to lift the rail,

trying to level up the two sides. The
plan is to support it with stone ballast.

SHANE:
She's coming up now.

NARRATOR: They call 72-year-old
John Spence, the track whisperer.

Move it down and move that up,
move that jack ten ties that way.

NARRATOR: With more than
35 years of experience,

he can pinpoint precisely where
the track needs to be lifted.

Right here, there's a bubble right
in the center. It's level right here.

NARRATOR:
John uses a wooden board

with a bubble and a glass
tube on top as a spirit level.

It's not easy to lift such a massive
section of continuous rail.

Brute force is an essential tool.

-JOHN: Half a bubble.
-Half a bubble? Ready?

(grunting)

-JONH: Very good. Good.
-ENGINEER: That's good?

DUSTIN: Okay, now we've
got this defect lifted,

the track is now open for the
train to proceed. We're good to go.

NARRATOR:
A day after leaving Winnipeg,

VIA Rail 693 is approaching
the halfway point of its journey.

The next major stop is Thompson.

On board, Ron Estler, from the US, is
looking forward to getting to Churchill.

He's returning after a
memorable trip as a young man.

RON: 47 years ago right now, I was a
25-year-old third-year graduate student

at Johns Hopkins University in
Baltimore, and my research director

had a rocket experiment measuring
electrons in the aurora,

and he asked me to come to
Churchill to oversee the experiment.

It was a life-changing experience for me,

and I always told myself I'd
come back someday, and 47 years,

I'm fulfilling that dream.

I just love trains, and this is a
unique experience on this train.

I mean, to be here for 48
hours or so,

traveling from Winnipeg to Churchill
on something that's very unique.

Who doesn't wanna do that?

NARRATOR: The train's traveling through
territory settled for around 15,000 years

by the Assiniboine, Dakota Cree,
and Dene Peoples.

The next stop is at the
heart of their lands.

CONDUCTOR (speaker):
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

May I have your attention, please?

We'll be arriving into Thompson station.

For your safety, please remain
in your seat and or your cabin

until the train comes to a
complete stop in the terminal.

MAN:
Okay for doors.

NARRATOR: Thompson is home to the second
largest nickel deposit in the world.

After this discovery, a mine was built,
bringing prosperity to the area,

and increasing
opportunities for employment.

Today, it's a growing town,
and with a hospital and shopping mall,

it's a key destination for many
of the First Nations people

living in small villages around here.

ANDREW:
Yeah, loud and clear.

NARRATOR: Before it leaves the station,
locomotive driver Andrew Paterson

carries out a safety check on the train.

Up north, there's often a thin
layer of ice on the rails.

To avoid slipping, drivers
apply their brakes

to heat the wheels and melt the ice.

But this can sometimes cause wheel
bearings to overheat and seize up,

so he pays careful attention
to wheels and bearings.

ANDREW: I'm making sure that
the air hoses are done up,

that we don't have any air
leaks for our braking system.

I'm also checking the
bearing temperatures.

The gauge that I have is
actually a heat g*n,

and we use this to monitor
bearing temperatures.

And this'll give us an indication
if our bearing temperatures

are warmer than usual,
and they're within tolerance.

NARRATOR: Andrew's family has a long
tradition of working on the railroad.

ANDREW: My father worked
for VIA Rail, and then my grandfather,

he worked for
one of the freight railways.

And my great-great
grandfather also worked for

one of the freight railways of Winnipeg.

For me personally,
growing up with my father,

I was around trains my whole life,

having the ability to ride on the trains
and see them and experience them

and, kind of, got hooked on them. For me
to pursue that as a career afterwards

was an absolute dream come true.

NARRATOR: With passengers
boarding, refueling complete,

and all pre-departure checks completed,
the train can get underway.

CONDUCTOR: All aboard!
(train honks)

NARRATOR: For the next 12 hours,
the train will battle through the night,

heading towards a section of rail
where major flooding destroyed the tracks,

severing the route to Churchill.

Picture about 100 feet of rail
hanging in the air eight feet

in 13 different locations.

NARRATOR: In Thompson, Northern
Manitoba, a relief crew is taking over.

Engineer Bruce McMaster
will be in the driving seat.

Gotta check to make sure all those pins
are in place there, check these wheels.

NARRATOR: With no road access
in much of the region north of Thompson,

the freight train is a vital lifeline,

delivering goods to isolated communities
and businesses along the route.

Today's essentials include a weekly
delivery of food for Churchill.

And crews have loaded a large
snowblower and an excavator,

each to be dropped off at
different places up the line.

(brakes squealing)

Joining Bruce on this trip are Roy Spence,
and apprentice driver Josh, Bruce's son.

He's been on the job
for only three months.

JOSH: Oh it's good, it's awesome. I love
working under my dad, you know,

and him showing me the ropes around here.

Yeah, it's a good step
forward for him. Future in it.

JOSH: I wanna be like my dad, you
know. I guess that's all I could say.

And it's a career too.
It's not just a job.

NARRATOR: To become a fully qualified
driver like his father,

Josh will have to work
as a conductor for two years,

and then complete driver training
for up to two further years.

Okay, thanks. We'll talk
to you later. 2605 out.

(rumbling)

NARRATOR:
Three hours out of Thompson,

close to where the snowblower
is to be dropped,

the freight train makes its first crossing
of the magnificent Nelson River

at Manitou Rapids.

In summer, the rapids flowing under the
bridge are immensely dangerous.

ROY: It's approximately about
90 feet down to the river.

The river probably travels
at about 27 knots an hour,

so got loose pretty quick and
generates a lot of hydroelectricity.

NARRATOR: The Nelson River
powers the nearby Manitoba Hydro Plant,

an important source of hydroelectricity

for the large nickel
mines north of Thompson.

A few kilometers past the bridge, the
train stops to deliver the snowblower.

ROY:
Yeah, you can pretty much order anything

and have it dropped off somewhere.

Just gotta have the proper
paperwork and proper billing.

OPERATOR (radio): 2605, you
can take him ahead a couple of feet.

(pressurized hiss)

NARRATOR: From above, the
delivery looks well practiced.

The loco and the flatbed
carrying the snowblower

are separated from the rest of the train.

Then conductor Roy Spence
switches the points,

so that Bruce can shunt the
snowblower onto a side rail.

Okay, we're going northward now.

Yeah, they've got an airstrip in there.

Manitoba Hydro has an airstrip
where they fly employees in and out.

It's probably a snowblower
to clean the airstrip off.

NARRATOR: Once the flatbed
carrying the snowblower is unhooked,

Bruce returns to the main track.

The locomotives are re-joined to the rest
of the load, and the journey continues.

(rumbles)

The crew drive on into the dusk.
At nightfall, they pull into Gillam.

After a 12-hour, 200-kilometre
journey from Thompson,

it's time for the crew to
take an overnight break.

The next morning, Bruce, Roy,
and Josh are back underway.

From Gillam, there are no
roads at all going north;

the railway is the only land connection
to Churchill, 250 kilometers away.

Here, it's essential the train
doesn't run into trouble.

If a breakdown occurs, getting
help to the crew is difficult.

North of Gillam, the
landscape changes.

The train enters the barren
lands, stark and desolate.

This is what's called tundra,
where only stunted trees grow,

and the subsoil is
frozen all year round.

With global warming, extreme weather
events are happening more frequently.

In 2017, it was in this area that a
natural catastrophe severed the tracks.

ROY: We had a big snowfall that winter and
there was one snowbank was 11 feet high,

and when the snow melted,

all the water just formed on the track
and washed it out in different places.

TIM: Picture about 100 feet of
rail hanging in the air

eight feet in 13
different locations.

The water couldn't get to the
culverts, and the one thing about water,

it'll find the weak areas, and if they're
not going through the culverts,

they're going through the track,
and that's what washed them out.

NARRATOR: With no road access,
repairing the track was tough.

A freight train had to make
repeated 80-kilometre trips,

to bring in materials
and earthmoving equipment.

Churchill was cut off for months.

TIM:
Their lifeline is their railway.

All their groceries come
up at a reasonable cost.

They flew 'em in, but, like,
the prices were outrageous.

And just not having a train or
being able to get out,

it was really stressful for the
people of Churchill, for sure.

NARRATOR: To repair the line, engineers
came up with a pioneering solution:

a webbed material, with the individual
cells that they filled with sand.

It made a base for the track that wouldn't
be easily washed away in future floods.

The line was reopened
after a year and a half.

The freight train passes
safely over the repaired track,

but there's no
chance for complacency.

The maintenance team has spotted
another problem up ahead.

To fix it will require
urgent and extreme measures.

Looks like a potential pull-apart here.
We've got our bolts are starting to bend.

I think we'll probably have to deal with
it today and before it gets any wider,

and this is gonna end up stopping
trains if we don't get her done.

(dramatic music)

NARRATOR:
For the VIA Rail passenger train,

it's the final stage of its journey.

Overnight, there's
been a heavy snowfall.

Snow plow driver Charles
Godwin has the responsibility

for keeping the track clear.

CHARLES: Right now, I'm widening up
the next track, getting the snow off here.

Just keeping it clear, really.

The snow piles up too much and
makes it hard for trains to get through.

We wanna prevent
snowdrifts from happening.

NARRATOR: The machine Charles is
driving is called The Snowfighter.

CHARLES: I travel from Gillam, which
is mile 326, to Churchill, mile 510.

I do that in a day.

NARRATOR: The 12-metre-long
machine is specially designed

to deal with heavy snow.

With its extended wings,

it can push snow more than four and a
half meters from the track center.

It's a brute of a plough, powered
by a 260-horsepower engine.

CHARLES: Keeping the track
clear for trains, high rails,

to these remote communities
that really rely on the train for freight,

passenger services to these remote
communities, I think it's very important.

Snowdrifts happen, snow piles up.
You've gotta keep the tracks clear.

If it doesn't, you're delaying people

that are really relying on things
to get delivered to them.

NARRATOR: The track ahead of
the VIA Rail passenger train is now clear,

and it can pick up speed.

But today, the VIA Rail train
is making an unscheduled stop.

A group of wildlife photographers have
arranged to be picked up beside the line,

nowhere near a station.

BRUCE: So, that lodge is
way out there somewhere.

NARRATOR: With trains
traveling at no more than

15 kilometers per hour
in these remote areas,

it's easy for the drivers to spot people
waiting by the track, and stop in time.

BRUCE:
I can pass that up to you.

You go all the way to the
top and I'll get, you got it.

NARRATOR: The group have
spent a week based in a remote lodge,

photographing polar
bears close to their dens.

BRUCE: Then I'll come and look at your
tickets once you get onboard.

NARRATOR: After they board, the train
resumes its journey to Churchill.

Ahead, roadmaster Dustin Head
has been called to a problem on the track

that his crew's discovered.

DUSTIN: Good day, gentlemen.
What do we have here?

ENGINEER: Oh, looks like a
potential pull-apart here.

We've got our bolts
are starting to bend.

I think we'll probably have to
deal with it today and then,

before it gets any wider,

and this is gonna end up stopping
trains if we don't get her done.

DUSTIN: Okay, well we'll do
that and we'll back these trucks up,

go about nine feet back and
we'll light both sides on fire.

ENGINEER: Right, okay,
sounds like a good plan. (grunts)

DUSTIN:
Okay, John...

NARRATOR: When two adjacent
rails contract in extreme cold,

they can separate from one another.
It's called a pull-apart.

If it causes the bolts on
the plate holding the rails

together to bend and fracture,
it could result in a derailment.

DUSTIN: Luckily, we've caught this in
time where we could bring the joint

back together with some
fire and bring it together.

ENGINEER: Now what we're gonna
do is we're gonna lay our sawdust

and our igniter down, all along the rails,

heat 'em up, so that they expand,
pulls that, this gap here,

pulls that together enough so
that we can get a new bolt in

and we should be good
to go from there.

DUSTIN: It's brutally cold,
mother nature's not on our side,

so let's get it together.

NARRATOR: Dustin Head's crew is fixing a
potentially dangerous gap in the tracks.

They plan to use intense
heat to expand the rails

Okay, fire in the hole guys!
Stand all clear!

(dramatic music)

ENGINEER (grunts): It's perfect.
She lined up nice.

Bolts are going in the way they should.
They slide right in, like that.

NARRATOR: With the gap closed,
and new bolts holding the rails in place,

the crew reopen the line.
Trains can proceed safely.

The freight train's on its final
run into the depot at Churchill.

It's been a long shift for driver Bruce,
his son Josh, and conductor Roy Spence.

ROY: We'll get to Churchill on
2:30 in the afternoon,

and that gives them half of daylight time

to unload the material
that they have to unload,

the trailers of food. And
then we'll stay there overnight,

then the next day they've got enough
daylight and time to load everything up

so we can bring our train back.

NARRATOR: The crew still have
a couple of hours work to do.

Wagons need to be unhooked and
shunted to where they can be unloaded.

After they drop a final container,
they can call it a day.

VIA Rail 693 is just an
hour out of Churchill.

So, we get to Churchill at nine, and
then what's the game plan?

ISLEIFSON:
What's the game plan?

We'll drive out to the Churchill Marine
Observatory and take a look around.

-Nice. I'm excited.
-And see it for the first time.

Yeah. I'm excited for that.

NARRATOR: From above, it's clear just how
different the small town of Churchill is

from the train's
starting point in Winnipeg.

Churchill sits on the edge of Hudson Bay.
Its port is a northern gateway to Europe.

Early settlers came for the fur trade.

Later, the railway was
built to ship grain.

Today, the economy is built
around tourism

and it's been called the
polar bear capital of the world.

CONDUCTOR (speaker): Ladies and gentlemen,
may I have your attention please?

We will be arriving into Churchill.

For your safety, please stay
clear of the vestibule doors

until the train comes to a
complete stop in the terminal.

NARRATOR: As he nears
his final destination,

Ron Estler reflects on his visit to
Churchill almost a half century ago.

RON: Once my wife learned that
I had spent time up here,

we always wanted to go back
and see the northern lights.

I tell people it's the closest thing that
I've had to a religious experience.

NARRATOR: As the train
reverses into the station,

it's the end of a two-day journey
covering almost 1700 kilometers.

(train squealing)

Churchill is home to a
First Nations community.

-PASSENGER: Thanks for a great trip.
-PASSENGER: Yes, thank you so much.

CONDUCTOR:
Enjoy your stay.

NARRATOR: Once they disembark, University
of Manitoba researchers Leah and Dustin

waste no time in starting their research.

DUSTIN: Welcome to the
Churchill Marine Observatory.

NARRATOR:
At this time of year,

many of the tourists have
come to see the northern lights.

It's one of the best places in the world
to witness the aurora borealis,

and tonight Churchill doesn't let its
residents or its tourists down.

Tomorrow, the train will
be returning to Winnipeg,

back through the barren lands, the Boreal
Forest, the frozen lakes and prairies.

Together with the frontier
spirit of the crews who keep

this wilderness railroad open,

the changing landscape is
what makes the VIA Rail

one of the greatest train
journeys in the world.