New Westminster Bridge, Railway bridge in New Westminster, Canada
New Westminster Bridge is a single-track swing railway bridge over the Fraser River between New Westminster and Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Its swing span rotates open for marine traffic, and the structure is owned by the Government of Canada and operated by Canadian National Railway since 1992.
The bridge opened in 1904 carrying rail and vehicle traffic on separate levels across the Fraser River. When the Pattullo Bridge was completed in 1937, road traffic moved there and this structure became a rail-only crossing.
The bridge's name comes from New Westminster, the city on its north bank; the source does not state who named the city. Passenger trains still cross it: Amtrak Cascades to Seattle and Portland, Via Rail's The Canadian to Toronto, and the Rocky Mountaineer. Before the bridge, travellers used the K de K or Surrey ferry, which docked at today's South Westminster in Surrey.
The bridge is an active rail facility, so it cannot be crossed on foot or by car. The riverbanks on either side offer the clearest views of the structure and the best chance to see the swing section in motion.
The bridge is a single-track railway that opens for marine traffic for much of each day, so trains cross slowly. This bottleneck led to studies to move Amtrak Cascades' Vancouver terminus 21 km southeast to Scott Road Station in Surrey, about 900 m from the bridge, so trains could avoid the Fraser crossing.
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