<P> The greatest disadvantage of the route was in Kicking Horse Pass, at the Alberta - British Columbia border on the continental divide . In the first 6 km (3.7 mi) west of the 1,625 metres (5,331 feet) high summit, the Kicking Horse River drops 350 metres (1,150 feet). The steep drop would force the cash - strapped CPR to build a 7 km (4.3 mi) long stretch of track with a very steep 41⁄2 percent gradient once it reached the pass in 1884 . This was over four times the maximum gradient recommended for railways of this era, and even modern railways rarely exceed a two - percent gradient . However, this route was far more direct than one through the Yellowhead Pass and saved hours for both passengers and freight . This section of track was the CPR's Big Hill . Safety switches were installed at several points, the speed limit for descending trains was set at 10 km per hour (6 mph), and special locomotives were ordered . Despite these measures, several serious runaways still occurred including the first locomotive, which belonged to the contractors, to descend the line . CPR officials insisted that this was a temporary expediency, but this state of affairs would last for 25 years until the completion of the Spiral Tunnels in the early 20th century . </P> <P> In 1881, construction progressed at a pace too slow for the railway's officials who, in 1882, hired the renowned railway executive William Cornelius Van Horne to oversee construction with the inducement of a generous salary and the intriguing challenge of handling such a difficult railway project . Van Horne stated that he would have 800 km (500 mi) of main line built in 1882 . Floods delayed the start of the construction season, but over 672 km (418 mi) of main line, as well as sidings and branch lines, were built that year . The Thunder Bay branch (west from Fort William) was completed in June 1882 by the Department of Railways and Canals and turned over to the company in May 1883, permitting all - Canadian lake and railway traffic from Eastern Canada to Winnipeg, for the first time in Canada's history . By the end of 1883, the railway had reached the Rocky Mountains, just eight kilometres (five miles) east of Kicking Horse Pass . The construction seasons of 1884 and 1885 would be spent in the mountains of British Columbia and on the north shore of Lake Superior . </P> <P> Many thousands of navvies worked on the railway . Many were European immigrants . In British Columbia, government contractors hired workers from China, known as "coolies". A navvy received between $1 and $2.50 per day, but had to pay for his own food, clothing, transport to the job site, mail and medical care . After 21⁄2 months of hard labour, they could net as little as $16 . Chinese labourers in British Columbia made only between 75 cents and $1.25 a day, paid in rice mats, and not including expenses, leaving barely anything to send home . They did the most dangerous construction jobs, such as working with explosives to clear tunnels through rock . The families of the Chinese who were killed received no compensation, or even notification of loss of life . Many of the men who survived did not have enough money to return to their families in China, although Chinese labour contractors had promised that as part of their responsibilities . Many spent years in isolated and often poor conditions . Yet the Chinese were hard working and played a key role in building the Western stretch of the railway; even some boys as young as twelve years old served as tea - boys . In 2006 the Canadian government issued a formal apology to the Chinese population in Canada for their treatment both during and following the construction of the CPR . </P> <P> By 1883, railway construction was progressing rapidly, but the CPR was in danger of running out of funds . In response, on 31 January 1884, the government passed the Railway Relief Bill, providing a further $22.5 million in loans to the CPR . The bill received royal assent on 6 March 1884 . </P>

Who has played an important part in building the canadian pacific railway
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