page_title: Super Continental
section_title: Decline of passenger trains
hierarchical_section_title: Super Continental / Service history / Decline of passenger trains
caption_attribution_description: Railway lands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. CN Flagship Train &quot;Super Continental&quot; ran in two sections in summer between Toronto and Vancouver and Montreal and Vancouver. During the off season the trains would be combined/separated at Capreol, Ontario. Although it promised dome service Toronto to Vancouver, in actuality the former Milwaukee Road full length domes only operated between Jasper, Alberta and Vancouver. The Super Continental took a northerly route across Ontario to Winnipeg and thence to Saskatoon, Edmonton and Vancouver.
context_page_description: The Super Continental was a transcontinental Canadian passenger train operated by the Canadian National Railway from 1955 until 1977, when Via Rail took over the train and ran it until it was cancelled in 1981. Service was restored in 1985 but was again eliminated in 1990. The original CN train had a Montreal–Ottawa–Toronto-Winnipeg–Saskatoon–Edmonton–Jasper–Vancouver routing with daily service.
context_section_description: By the 1960s, Canadian passenger trains were in serious decline, largely thanks to increased competition from automobiles travelling the then-new Trans-Canada Highway and from airlines. The CN nevertheless aggressively marketed its services, even while CP was losing interest in operating The Canadian. To help combat the perception that the CP route through the Rocky Mountains was more scenic, CN in 1964 acquired a set of six ex-Milwaukee Road "Super Dome" cars (rechristened "Sceneramics" by CN) that had formerly seen service on the Olympian Hiawatha. These were placed into service between Winnipeg and Vancouver. CN also refurbished the coaches that were used on the train, adding new luggage racks and lounge areas to some cars. But despite CN's best efforts, ridership continued to decline throughout the 1970s, and the train operated at a loss. In 1969 it was estimated that the Super Continental operated at a loss of $14,058,030.
  CN applied to the Canadian Transport Commission to discontinue the Super Continental in 1971, but the commission declined the application, forcing CN to continue service despite falling revenue. With losses increasing to $55.9 million in 1975, CN again submitted an application to discontinue the service in 1976 and was again denied by the commission.
caption: The Super Continental leaving Toronto for Vancouver 1970
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