Kingston Subdivision
CN on the Kingston Subdivision in October 1981
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Canadian National Railway Metrolinx
Locale	Ontario and Quebec, Canada
Termini	Union Station Rail Corridor, Toronto Montreal
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	Canadian National Railway
Services	Lakeshore East Toronto-Montreal Corridor Toronto-Ottawa Corridor
Operator(s)	Canadian National Railway (freight) GO Transit (passenger) Via Rail (passenger)
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Signalling	Centralized traffic control

Canadian National Railway's Kingston Subdivision, or Kingston Sub for short, is a major railway line connecting Toronto with Montreal that carries the majority of CN traffic between these points. The line was originally the main trunk for the Grand Trunk Railway between these cities, although there has been some realignment of the route between these cities. The majority of the Kingston Sub runs close to the northern bank of Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River.

The infrastructure consists of twin tracks, on which over 50 pieces of interlocking crossover tracks are grafted all along the subdivision. The extra length of these crossover tracks allows for high speed track interchange. Low gravity intermodal container trains are allowed to change tracks at 45 miles per hour, and Via Rail's passenger trains, at 60, and in some areas, 90. The governing traffic control system is CTC. Since 1995, no OCS operation clearance forms need to be filled by train conductors on the Kingston Subdivision. CTC signals thus provide both permission and authorization for train movements, as is the situation with most main line operation at CN.

Just east of Newcastle, east of Toronto, the line is joined by the CP Belleville Subdivision, Canadian Pacific Railway's similar mainline route. The two remain nearly side-by-side to the east of Belleville, where the Belleville sub turns north to Smiths Falls. Sections of the Kingston Sub are no longer owned by CN. In particular, CN mainline freight traffic in the Toronto area no longer follows the Kingston Sub, and is re-directed north of the city along the York Sub. The section between Pickering Junction and Union Station in downtown Toronto has been sold to Metrolinx for GO Transit service, part of their Lakeshore East line.^[1]

Via rail of Canada operates their corridor service along the entirety of the line. VIAs Toronto-Ottawa trains runs along the line to Brockville, where it splits off and heads north. The Toronto-Montreal train runs along the whole line. In fact, many say that VIA trains run along the line more than CN freight trains. The most used station on the line is Kingston, due to Montreal, and Toronto stations being on their own subdivisions.

The Kingston subdivision primarily runs along the north shore of Lake Ontario. From Toronto’s Union station to Pickering junction, in west Pickering, where the Kingston sub intersects with the York sub, the line is known as the “GO Kingston sub”. Between Union and Pickering junction, the line is triple tracked. Leaving Union station’s rail corridor, the line is intersected by the CN Bala subdivision, before curving slightly north, through the south end of Toronto’s east York community. The first stop outside of union, is Danforth, just off Danforth Rd. GO lakeshore east trains stop, and VIA trains don’t. From there, the line passes Scarborough station, off Saint Claire Ave, and just east of Scarborough the GO Stouffville line splits off. The Kingston sub then passes rouge hill, Guildwood, and Eglington stations, before reaching Pickering junction, where the GO trains are split and run parallel to the Kingston sub. From Pickering junction to Dorval, the line is known as the CN Kingston sub. Between Pickering junction and Oshawa GO, where the lakeshore east line ends, the Kingston sub runs through the cities of Whitby, Pickering, Ajax, and Oshawa. However, the Kingston sub only has a station in Oshawa, because CN and VIA trains are ran along the Kingston sub, which only has a station in Oshawa, while GO trains run along a parallel set of tracks, and stop at Pickering Ajax and Whitby. Between Oshawa GO and Darlington provincial park in west Bowmanville, the tracks run side by side with the highway 401. From Darlington park, it curves slightly running just to the north of Darlington nuclear generating station. From there, curves north again, between Bowmanville and Newcastle, and runs along side the 401 again for a short time. From Newcastle, it weaves its way between Lake Ontario and highway 401, to port hope in west Northumberland county. From there, the Kingston sub runs through Cobourg, and between Cobourg and Belleville, runs parallel to, but slightly north of Lake Ontario. East of Belleville and Hastings county, the line travels farther inland, to Napanee. Just east of Napanee, the line once again parallels Lake Ontario, with some final curves before Kingston. From Kingston, the line passes north of highway 401, through the communities of Landsdowne, Gananoque, and Mallorytown, before passing again under the 401, into Brockville. Between Brockville and Cornwall, the Kingston sub runs parallel to the st Lawrence river, passing through the communities of Prescott and Maitland, before arriving in Cornwall. East of Cornwall, the line passes once again under the 401, bringing it into the small town of Le Coteau. From there, the line remains along side Quebec autoroute 20, before ending in Dorval, just outside of Montreal.

The 1850s Grand Trunk Railway mainline consisted of 34 stations, many of which have been removed from service or no longer exist. Lansdowne station was torn down soon after CN abandoned service to the village in 1966;^[2] CN demolished an Iroquois station in 2002.^[3]

Stations currently on the Toronto-Montréal mainline include:

• Union Station (Toronto)
• GO Transit (no VIA service) at Danforth, Scarborough, Eglinton in Toronto
• Guildwood
• Commuter stations in Rouge Hill/Pickering, Ajax and Whitby serve GO Transit; No VIA service
• Oshawa GO Station
• Port Hope railway station
• Cobourg railway station
• Brighton (not in use, now part of Memory Junction railway museum^[4])
• Trenton Junction railway station
• Belleville station (Ontario)
• Napanee railway station
• Ernestown (not in use)
• Kingston railway station (Ontario)
• Kingston Outer Station (abandoned, in ruins^[5])
• Gananoque railway station
• Brockville railway station
• Prescott (not in use, now houses Grenville historical society and archives)
• Near Morrisburg, two historic stations from The Lost Villages were relocated but did not return to service. New stations were built in Morrisburg and Long Sault in the 1950s but the train no longer stops.
• Cornwall railway station
• Dorval railway station (Via)
• The line ended at Bonaventure Station, which has been replaced by Montreal Central Station.