Hilt Wallace makes no bones about where he stands on the issue of rail-line abandonment.
He views the trend as ludicrous and says farmers are the ones who ultimately pay the price.
“It’s the most ridiculous damned thing that ever happened,” said Wallace, a retired farmer from Waskada, Man. “It’s cheaper for the railroads but it’s not cheaper for the producer.”
Those convictions got Wallace involved with efforts to keep a local section of track in the ground rather than see it torn out by CP Rail. He chairs the Lyleton Subdivision Transportation Committee, which was formed to save a stretch of rail line that runs between Waskada, Goodlands and Deloraine, Man.
Read Also
Russian wheat exports start to pick up the pace
Russia has had a slow start for its 2025-26 wheat export program, but the pace is starting to pick up and that is a bearish factor for prices.
The line was abandoned by CP three years ago, but the track has stayed intact. Wallace believes the actions of a local municipality had a lot to do with that.
The rural municipality of Brenda passed resolutions in 1996 that insist rail-line property must be returned to its natural state if the rails are removed. The neighboring municipality of Winchester passed a similar resolution. The track between Goodlands and Deloraine extends between those two municipalities.
The reeve for the RM of Brenda said his municipality passed the resolutions to protect the environment. The intent was not to thwart any efforts to rip the local rail line out, said John Dickinson.
However, he admits the local bylaws would make it more costly for CP to remove the rails. The rail bed would have to be leveled and covered with good topsoil.
The bylaws have not been challenged in court by CP. Dickinson thinks that may be due to the potential risks involved. A failed court challenge by CP could offer a precedent for other municipalities where rail-line abandonment is a concern.
If the rail company does challenge the bylaws, Dickinson said the RM is prepared to stand behind its actions.
“They were all hot and bothered to challenge it a couple of years ago,” he said, “but it just seemed to die.”
More than 100 grain growers were in support of buying the 28-kilometre stretch of line during negotiations with CP. Those talks ended two years ago and were never resumed.
“We had the money to buy the line,” Wallace said, “but we just couldn’t come to a satisfactory arrangement with CP.”
He remains critical of the Canada Transportation Act, citing the need for legislation that better accommodates short lines.
Len Cocolicchio, CP public affairs manager, said the rail company is having discussions with the RMs of Brenda and Winchester regarding the abandoned line. The resolutions passed by the municipalities are included in those talks.
Cocolicchio would not say whether the resolutions have delayed any plans that CP had for the rail line. Nor would he say whether the rail company will consider any proposals to sell the line. The priority now, he said, is finding common ground with the municipalities.
“The proper place for discussions is between the municipalities and the railway and not through the media.”
Despite the closure of the line, the elevators at Goodlands and Waskada remain open. But grain passing through those facilities must now be trucked to other elevators in the region.
“I don’t think there’s much problem getting the grain out,” said Wallace. “It’s just ridiculous getting it hauled out by truck with the railway there.”
