Second Narrows Bridge, Railway bridge in North Vancouver, Canada

The Second Narrows Rail Bridge is a dark green steel truss railway bridge across the Burrard Inlet, linking Vancouver to the North Shore. Its 150-metre lift span, the longest in Canada, runs between two X-braced towers with vertical tracks; the right tower carries a rectangular machinery house with small windows at its top. Cables and counterweights raise the span, which normally stays up and lowers only for trains. Its south end enters the Thornton Tunnel.

The first bridge opened in 1925, carrying a single rail track plus roadways and a sidewalk. On 13 September 1930 the freighter Pacific Gatherer struck it and brought down the central span; bankruptcy and lawsuits delayed repairs until the province bought the bridge in 1933. A lift section replaced the bascule and it reopened in 1934. A new lift bridge was built just east in 1969, and the 1925 structure was demolished in 1970.

The name refers to the second narrowing of the Burrard Inlet, not to a second bridge; the First Narrows lies to the west beside Stanley Park. The lift span stays raised unless a train crosses, so ships pass beneath while the bridgetender works cables and counterweights. The south end runs straight into the Thornton Tunnel toward the main Canadian rail network.

The structure is only accessible to rail traffic and is operated by Canadian National Railway. Best views for visitors come from the nearby North Shore or from the water at a distance.

It is one of only a few vertical-lift railway bridges in North America and requires intricate coordination with shipping traffic. The lifting design allows both trains and large vessels to use the same water passage.