Northern Innovation: How We’re Keeping the Hudson Bay Railway Strong
The Hudson Bay Railway (HBR) is a lifeline for northern Manitoba and presents a major opportunity to diversify Canada’s trade routes. A feat of Canadian engineering, it provides northern Manitobans with food, fuel, medicine and opportunity. It also connects the Port of Churchill to Canada’s broader East/West rail network.
A Hudson Bay Railway locomotive at the Thompson, MB, railway site.
Maintaining a railway through Northern Manitoba does require special care, managing of permafrost, tundra, and the increasing effects of climate change. That’s why Arctic Gateway Group (AGG) is using advanced tools and technology to keep the HBR strong, efficient, and safe for the long haul. Thanks to excellent Canadian scientific partnerships, modern innovations, and strong government support, AGG is undoing decades of underinvestment and building a new Northern opportunity.
Critical minerals being transported across northern Manitoba via the Hudson Bay Railway.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re keeping the HBR strong, including drone-powered track inspections, AI monitoring systems mounted right on the locomotives, 100-year-old insights from the team who originally surveyed the HBR, and more.
Here’s a preview:
Tracksense: Drones and AI in Daily Operations
Using drones, artificial intelligence, and real-time data processing, AGG and Winnipeg-based TrackSense can monitor the railway in ways that have never been possible before. From track geometry to water management, drone tech is transforming how we care for the line, keep it safe while improving inspection efficiencies.
ApoSys: Smart Locomotives That Sense the Track
ApoSys is transforming railway maintenance with smart locomotive-mounted sensing systems. Using LiDAR, ground-penetrating radar, cameras, and precision localization, they enable continuous track mapping, early defect detection, and data-driven maintenance decisions. This modern solution helps the HBR move from reactive repairs to predictive, preventive maintenance - reducing costs, minimizing downtime, and improving safety.
PermaRail: Understanding the Ground Beneath Us
PermaRail is a research partnership that includes five Canadian universities, including the University of Calgary, Université Laval, Carleton, Royal Military College, and Queens University. Their work starts from the premise that the HBR is a Canadian marvel of engineering. The HBR is the longest linear railway over permafrost in the world, and has proved itself for 100 years. PermaRail’s research is broad, and will shape the future of how we build and maintain railway infrastructure in a changing northern climate.
Cold Weather Brake Testing: Safe Service Through Every Season
Working with the National Research Council, AGG is gathering detailed data on how air brake systems perform in extreme cold. This research is helping build safer winter operations and setting new standards for cold-weather rail in Canada.
AGG is proud to operate the Hudson Bay Railway on behalf of the Indigenous and northern communities who own this railway and depend on it for their livelihoods. With the right tools and long-term vision, we’re showing that this line is not only maintainable – it’s stronger than it’s been in decades and AGG is going to keep it strong.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our series, where we’ll take a closer look at TrackSense and how drones, artificial intelligence, and Manitoba-made solutions are helping to keep the Hudson Bay Railway strong.
About Arctic Gateway Group: The Arctic Gateway Group is a proudly Indigenous and community owned Manitoba company that owns and operates the Port of Churchill, Canada’s only Arctic seaport serviced by rail, as well as the Hudson Bay Railway, which operates from The Pas to Churchill.