Christmas cheer will be rolling into London Wednesday night, with the arrival of the CP Holiday Train at the railway crossing just south of Oxford and Richmond streets.
The brightly decorated rail cars will chug into the city at around 8:15 p.m., followed by a free half-hour concert from 8:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. by Jim Cuddy, Devin Cuddy, and Kelly Prescott from a boxcar-turned-travelling stage.
Audiences are urged to make a donation to local food banks, either in cash or as a non-perishable food item.
“The holiday season is the best time of the year,” said CP’s president and chief executive officer, Keith Creel. “We look forward to bringing together thoughts of Canadians and Americans this season for this incredibly important cause and a great time.”
Two holiday trains — one in Canada, and one in the U.S. — spend three weeks making stops in communities along CP’s service area, offering free concerts and collecting donations that stay in local communities.
Since the program started in 1999, both trains have covered more than 160,000 kilometres and raised close to $12 million and 1.7 million kilograms of food.