Maxine Plesiuk liked what she heard May 5 as the Manitoba government introduced its proposed Railways Amendment Act.
The legislation is meant to encourage investment in short-line railroads and to address community concerns about rail-line abandonment.
“It’s welcome news,” said Plesiuk, reeve for the Rural Municipality of Ethelbert and an advocate of short-line rail service.
Among other things, the proposed changes would eliminate the requirement that railway operators must prove the economic viability of a line as part of their licensing.
The process for the approval of rail-line abandonment would also be revised.
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Under current legislation, the Motor Transport Board can only issue a licence for a railway that is considered economically viable. That same legislation prevents the licensing of unprofitable railways, even if there is the potential for better returns through increased traffic.
Plesiuk is glad the province wants to remove economic viability as part of the criteria.
“On a lot of these lines that have been abandoned, there have been no trains run on them for two or three years, so how do you establish economic viability? You can’t.”
According to provincial highways minister Steve Ashton, the proposed legislation would prevent the abandonment and removal of a rail line if communities or other interested groups wanted to buy the line to continue shipping freight.
The new process would require rail operators to first offer the line to private investors.
If no private investors were interested, the operator would have to offer the line for sale at net salvage value to the province and the communities through which the line passes.
Ashton said rail lines offer an economical way to move goods, fuel and people in many rural and northern communities.
“This legislation provides greater opportunity for local communities and the province to protect this important transportation infrastructure.”
