After a two year pandemic pause, the Canadian Pacific (CP) Holiday Train is set to roll into London this week.
The festive train, decked out with hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights, will stop on the tracks on Richmond Street just south of Piccadilly Street at 8:15 p.m. on Wednesday. Canadian country artists Lindsay Eli and JoJo Mason will perform from one of the train cars for half an hour beginning at 8:30 p.m.
The last time the train came to the city was in 2019. COVID-19 forced it to pivot to virtual celebrations only in 2020 and 2021.
Back to its traditional in-person journey this year, the two holiday trains began chugging along on November 23. Over four weeks the trains moving through Canada and the U.S. will stop for 168 live shows.
"I'm grateful to the CP team members who adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver two exceptional virtual Holiday Train shows and to all those who continued to donate while we kept community members safe," Keith Creel, CP's president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. "The Holiday Train is all about families and communities coming together to celebrate the season and help those in need. We are excited to be back out on the rails and in our communities, taking these two beautiful trains across our network and sharing the joy that comes with gathering in the spirit of giving."
While the holiday train performances are free to attend, people are asked to bring a cash or non-perishable food donation. All donations made in London will go to the London Food Bank.
Since the Holiday Train program launched in 1999, it has collected more than $21 million and 5 million pounds of food for food banks across North America.
Prior to its stop in London, the Holiday Train will be in Woodstock from 6:40 p.m. until 7:10 p.m.
