Transportation

Highways and Trucking

Kamloops is a vital transportation hub in B.C., due to its location at the intersection of BC's four major highways,
the Coquihalla (Hwy 5), TransCanada (Hwy 1), Yellowhead (Hwy 5), and Highway 97.  

Over 25 trucking and transport companies that ship goods across B.C., Canada and the U.S are located in Kamloops. Given most goods in B.C. are shipped by truck; Kamloops is strategically situated for the expansion of distribution businesses that ship goods to urban markets in the United States and Canada.  

Kamloops Airport  

Kamloops Airport (Fulton Field) is operated by YVR Airport Services Ltd. and is the main airport in the TNRD. The airport offers direct service between Kamloops and Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Smithers, Prince George, Kelowna and Seattle, WA.

In addition to passenger transport, the airport handles a considerable amount of air cargo.  Several couriers operate from the airport, Fedex, DHL, Loomis, Best Express, and Bankers Dispatch.  The airport is in a prime location to handle air cargo given the excellent road infrastructure and minimal air and ground traffic congestion.

There is a solid industrial base at Fulton Field including small airplane repair facilities, engine rebuilding, avionics specialists, aircraft salvage, charter operations, a flying school, air tanker base, and forest fire control centre.

Infrastructure at the airport includes: two runways, one 1800 m (6000 ft) and one 622 m (2200 ft) and navigational aids such as a localizer with DME (direct measuring equipment) and NDB.  The main runway is equipped with ODALS (omni directorial approach lighting system). 

The airport expansion proposal includes a $16.5 million federal and provincial partnership to expand the runway, installing a glide path and adding to the terminal building for Customs and arrivals. The airport improvements will increase the reliability percentage rate of landing to 90% in heavy snow and winter conditions.

Kamloops Airport Traffic

Railways

Both Canadian National Railway (CNR) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) service Kamloops. The railways intersect in Kamloops. Goods coming from Vancouver are shipped northeast on the CNR to Edmonton and northern Alberta and east on the CPR to Calgary.

Canadian Pacific Railway is a transcontinental carrier operating in Canada and the U.S.  Its 14,000-mile rail network serves the principal centers of Canada, from Montreal to Vancouver, and the U.S. Northeast and Midwest regions. CPR feeds directly into America's heartland from the East and West coasts.  Alliances with other carriers extend its market reach throughout the U.S. and into Mexico.  Canadian Pacific Logistics Solutions provides logistics and supply chain expertise worldwide. 

CPR is expanding its capacity to move more bulk commodities and resources to the Port of Vancouver to meet the demand of Asian markets.  CPR is also moving increasing volumes of finished goods, shipped in containers arriving from Asia, to consumers in the U.S. and Canada.  When the 25 projects are completed, CPR will be able to run an additional four trains daily between the Prairies and the Port of Vancouver, a 12-per-cent increase in capacity.

CN is increasing train capacity for overseas containers moving between the Port of Vancouver and Montreal and Toronto by more than 20 per cent, while boosting capacity for domestic container moves between Toronto and Montreal and major Western Canada centers by more than 10 per cent. In all, the new service plan, effective Aug. 22, 2005, will allow CN to accommodate an additional 125,000 inter-modal units per year across Canada, an increase of 15 per cent.

Public Transit

The City of Kamloops provides residents with an excellent public transit system.  BC Transit Kamloops operates forty buses on twelve routes throughout the city seven days a week.  With an average of 7,246 people boarding per day, the Kamloops transit system is one of the best-utilized systems in the province.   The transit system is 100 per cent mobility and disability accessible and all buses have bike racks. 

Kamloops buses run every half hour throughout the day, every 15 minutes during rush hour, and every hour in the evening.

Public Transit - Total Annual Passengers (All Routes)

BC Transit Kamloops also operates a handy Dial-a-Ride-Transportation (DART) system for those with mobility disabilities.  On average, 500 riders use handy DART every day. Transit fares:  Adult-$2.00, student-$1.50, senior-$1.50.  Regular transit users can also buy monthly passes:  adult-$48, secondary students-$28, seniors-$33 and TRU university students-free with U-Pass.

Number of Licensed Vehicles in Kamloops - Dec. 31

Proximity to Major Centers

Traffic Counts - Ministry of Transportation Summer Average Daily Traffic Count

Comparison of Average Daily Traffic Counts - 24 Hour Count Sample