Construction of the Prince Edward Island Railway National Historic Event
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Kensington Railway Station, PEI
© Agence Parcs Canada / Parks Canada Agency, 1987.
Address :
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
2018-07-31
Other Name(s):
-
Prince Edward Island Railway
(Designation Name)
Research Report Number:
2017-21
Importance:
Major political and railway engineering achievement in Canada
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: 6 Prince Street, Founders’ Hall, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
The Prince Edward Island Railway, built between 1871 and 1875 to bring economic growth and improve communications, over time became woven into the social and cultural life of the Island. In 1873, after Ottawa agreed to pay the costs of completing the line, which threatened the colony with bankruptcy, Prince Edward Island joined Confederation. The line extending from Tignish to Elmira and Murray Harbour was overseen by a federal agency from 1915 to 1918, and then folded into Canadian National Railways in 1919. Once passenger (1969) and freight service (1989) ended, its roadbed became part of the Confederation Trail.