The Keewatin Railway Company — owned by the Mathias Colomb, Tataskweyak and War Lake First Nations — runs passenger service over 160 miles of northern Manitoba from The Pas to Pukatawagan, a community with no all-weather road. The cars are VIA Rail equipment, but the railway, the tickets and the timetable are KRC's own. This is the community's supply line and its link to the outside world, and travellers are welcome aboard — on the train's terms: a mixed consist, freight work along the way, and timings that serve the North first.
From the window
The run crosses classic northern Manitoba: boreal forest, muskeg and Shield lakes between The Pas and Pukatawagan. It is not packaged scenery — it is the working landscape of the North, seen the way the people who live there see it.
On board
Coach seating in VIA Rail cars, crewed by KRC. Expect a local train, not a cruise train: station stops, freight handling en route, and a pace set by the work of the day. Bring what you need for the journey with you.
Before you book
- Book through KRC, not VIA: tickets are sold by KRC at the VIA Rail station in The Pas — phone (204) 623-5255. There is no online booking.
- Twice-weekly mixed service — plan your whole trip around the train days, not the other way round.
- Pukatawagan has limited visitor services. Arrange your return trip and any stay before you go.
- You are a guest in a First Nations community — travel respectfully, and ask before photographing people.
Gateways
The Pas is the gateway: a historic northern Manitoba town with fur-trade and railway roots, reachable by road and air from Winnipeg. Stay the night before you ride — the train keeps northern hours.
Official Keewatin Railway Company information for this service ↗