ASSINIBOIA, Sask. – Saskatchewan short-line railroad operators say new provincial funding will help them improve infrastructure and maintain safety.
Highways and infrastructure minister Wayne Elhard recently chose Assiniboia, the hub of three short lines, to announce $500,000 for the Shortline Railway Sustainability Program.
The program is designed to help maintain and upgrade aging track.
The province’s short lines can apply for half the cost of approved projects. They must have been in business for at least two years to be eligible.
Roger Gadd, chair of the Saskatchewan Shortline Railroad Association, said the money is appreciated.
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“We’ve been working on a program like this for the last couple of years,” he said after the announcement.
“We really thought we were getting somewhere until this year.”
The provincial election and change of government delayed the program but Gadd said companies will still be able to take advantage of it.
Eight short lines operate 1,411 kilometres of track in Saskatchewan. Maintaining the track, ties and rail bed is a significant cost.
“If you don’t look after it, it gets to be a real problem,” said Roger Dahl of Red Coat Road and Rail.
In some cases short-line companies inherited problem areas from the Class 1 railways. In others, basic maintenance is costly.
Dahl said Red Coat operates 119 km of track.
“Last year on our track … we spent roughly around $25,000 on two miles (three km), but that’s on a real problem area,” he said.
“Anything to keep up with the infrastructure is definitely a big help.”
The provincial money might allow short lines to do a little more maintenance than they had planned.
Elhard said the government hasn’t decided whether the funding will be ongoing.
“It’s something that I think the industry is very interested in seeing us accommodate,” he said. “I think there’s a good argument to be made there.”
He said the short lines are a critical part of the transportation system.
“We want to keep them safe and efficient and viable and so we need to evaluate what our financial response needs to be.”
Gadd said the money allocated this fiscal year “should do it for this year, and it’s a start.”
Most short lines haul grain. The three in the Assiniboia area, for example, rely on 500 users to load producer cars.
“We’re the largest producer loading line in Canada,” said Gadd, who is also general manager of Great Western Railway.
The third line operating out of Assiniboia is Fife Lake Railway.
Once the kaolin plant at Wood Mountain is operating, the three lines will also haul that product out of the area.
