ONTC traces its history to 1902 with the passage of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway Act, which received Royal Assent on March 17.

[3] Building the 253 mile T&NO main line from North Bay to Cochrane was instrumental in opening this region of the province for development and settlement, with its construction being cited as the reason for the discovery of a massive silver deposit at Cobalt, as well as gold at Porcupine and Kirkland Lake.

[3] Six years after construction started, the federal government's National Transcontinental Railway (NTR) main line from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Moncton, New Brunswick crossed the T&NO at Cochrane.

[3] In subsequent years, the TNORC authorized extending the railway first into western Quebec's gold and copper fields at Rouyn-Noranda and, following World War I, in 1921, the TONRC began extending the T&NO northward from Cochrane to the shores of James Bay at Moosonee, where the T&NO "Last Spike" was driven by the Honourable Justice Francis Robert Latchford in 1932.

[3] In 1937, the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway Act was amended, enabling the TNORC to operate buses, trucks, and aircraft in order to transport passengers and freight.

[4] Enabling legislation in 1950 allowed the ONTC to acquire, construct, and operate boats, as well as hotels, tourist resorts, and restaurants.

The route would provide service from Toronto to Timmins or Cochrane and would be available between four and seven days a week, based on seasonal travel demands.

[10] In December 2022, the Ontario Government announced a 139.5 million investment that marked a significant milestone in reinstating passenger service between Timmins and Toronto.

The government news release mentioned that the three new train sets will be built by Siemens Mobility Limited and will meet the latest EPA Tier 4 diesel emission standards.