An agreement by Canada’s national railways to hold off on further branch-line abandonment is seen as a positive move by the Western Rail Coalition.
The moratorium will hold until a report is issued by Arthur Kroeger. He was appointed to find ways to move forward grain transportation returns recommended by justice Willard Estey earlier this year.
The report is expected by Sept. 30.
“We want to see a moratorium until Kroeger’s report is finalized so we know exactly what his recommendations are,” said coalition representative Ron Gleim.
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The coalition represents 22 short-line committees in the three prairie provinces. They are representatives for short-line policies and act as a communication link between short lines and the major railroads.
Gleim hopes producers’ voices are heard during this round of consultation.
Nevertheless, it may be too late for some lines and their communities.
“If they put the wheat board at port and they don’t have open access probably most of the branch lines aren’t going to make it anyway,” he said in an interview from his Chaplin, Sask., farm.
He fears the grain companies and railways are forcing farmers to haul to large, centralized terminals and expressed those concerns before the prime minister’s task force on Western Canada, as well as a transportation hearing.
Canada’s national railways agreed to a moratorium last week but representatives for both companies said transfers of branch lines will
continue.
“The moratorium does not affect anything that is about to be sold,” said Jim Feeny of Canadian National Railway. All CN lines scheduled for closure or transfer to new owners are in Saskatchewan.
“In Saskatchewan we won’t move any further along the process while the Kroeger review is underway,” said Feeny.
Since 1996 CN has reduced its western Canadian network by 5,500 kilometres of which 4,696 km were transferred to short-line railroads.
CPR plans to discontinue almost 1,600 km in Western Canada. More than half of those tracks will be transferred to new agencies.
