SASKATOON (Staff) – More rail lines should be included in the government’s review of branch lines, grain industry officials said last week.
But a spokesperson for CN Rail says his company won’t submit any more lines to the review panel.
So far, the railways have submitted 17 light steel, low-volume lines for a cost/benefit analysis. CP Rail submitted 11 lines totalling 400 kilometres and CN six lines totalling 421 km.
“That’s as much as we intend to put in,” said CN’s Jim Feeny.
Review committee chair Marian Robson said there was a consensus at an industry meeting in Winnipeg last week that more lines should be added.
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“Everybody feels that to do a real serious analysis and get into the next level of lines, that it would be useful to have more lines go through the process,” she said, noting that even some light steel, low-volume lines are not included.
Feeny said CN submitted lines that met three criteria: they must be light steel, have been under discussion for some time, and have no unresolved issues regarding grain company operations.
He added that because the methodology being used in the analysis is new and untested, “we don’t want to get too adventurous.”
The committee is now analyzing two Saskatchewan lines (CN Rhein and CP Dunelm) to test the methods. Feeny said depending on the outcome, CN could re-evaluate its position.
