By Railfan & Railroad Staff
Three different trains celebrating the holiday season will hit the CPKC Railway system this November and December, the company announced this week. On Thursday, CPKC released the schedule for its annual Holiday Train as well as the Holiday Express that runs on former Kansas City Southern trackage.
Since its inception in 1999, the CP Holiday Train has raised $22.5 million and collected 5 million pounds of food for community food banks along CP’s network in the U.S. and Canada. Every year, CP dispatches two trains covered in lights, one to focus on lines in the U.S. and another in Canada. This year, the U.S. version will travel all the way south to Shreveport, La. At about the same time, the KCS Holiday Express will also be making its tour through former KCS territory in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
The trains stop in various towns along the route and notable musicians put on a performance for 30 minutes to an hour.
The Canadian version of the CP Holiday Train will begin in Hermon, Maine, on the former Bangor & Aroostook/Central Maine & Quebec. The Holiday Train made its first visit to Maine last year after the Class I took over the eastern regional railroad. The Canadian version will also hit the Kootenay Division of the CP in Alberta and British Columbia for the first time since 2019.
