Transportation in Canada

Railways:

• total: 36,114 km; note - there are two major transcontinental freight railway systems: Canadian National (privatized November 1995) and Canadian Pacific Railway; passenger service provided by government-operated firm VIA, which has no trackage of its own

• standard gauge: 36,114 km 1.435-m gauge (156 km electrified) (1998)

Highways:

• total: 901,902 km

• paved: 318,371 km (including 16,571 km of expressways)

• unpaved: 583,531 km (1999 est.)

Waterways: 3,000 km, including Saint Lawrence Seaway

Pipelines: crude and refined oil 23,564 km; natural gas 74,980 km

Ports and harbors: Becancour (Quebec), Churchill, Halifax, Hamilton, Montreal, New Westminster, Prince Rupert, Quebec City, Saint John (New Brunswick), St. John's (Newfoundland), Sept Isles, Sydney, Trois-Rivieres, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Windsor

Merchant marine:

• total: 114 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,602,275 GRT/2,371,146 DWT

• ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 61, cargo 11, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 2, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 16, rail car carrier 2, roll-on/roll-off 8, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1 (1999 est.)

• note: does not include ships used exclusively in the Great Lakes (1998 est.)

Airports: 1,411 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:

• total: 515

• over 3,047 m: 16

• 2,438 to 3,047 m: 17

• 1,524 to 2,437 m: 152

• 914 to 1,523 m: 240

• under 914 m: 90 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

• total: 896

• 1,524 to 2,437 m: 73

• 914 to 1,523 m: 362

• under 914 m: 461 (1999 est.)

Heliports: 15 (1999 est.)

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Somewhere it should be mentioned how the Canadian railway linking east and west Canada paralled the transcontinental railroad in the United States. Both of these were extremely important to the development of each country.