unimaginative2
Senior Member
I think the E&N has tremendous potential, and should receive some serious investment. To give you an idea of the terrible state it's in, a family friend who lives on the island north of Nanaimo would love to be able to take the train into Victoria, but she has a bad back and the jostling from the dilapidated track is so severe that she has trouble walking afterwards.
The Malahat is a terribly crowded and dangerous stretch of highway that would be very difficult and environmentally damaging to expand. Good rail service up to Nanaimo and beyond could eliminate the need for it. Closer in to Victoria, it could also be used as a commuter service.
Work to save E&N Railway, province urged
BRENNAN CLARKE
Special to The Globe and Mail
March 7, 2008
VICTORIA -- A strong vote of confidence from the B.C. government is all that is needed to unlock millions of dollars in federal funding for Vancouver Island's troubled E&N Railway, Island Corridor Foundation co-chair Jack Peake said yesterday.
"From my perspective, Ottawa is on side. Now all we need is for Victoria to recognize that this is a good project," said Mr. Peake, head of the non-profit agency that owns the historical rail line, formerly called the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway.
"It's not a case of B.C. jumping on the bandwagon and taking this to the feds. They're already on board."
Mr. Peake's group has pegged the cost of bringing the little-used railway up to North American standards at more than $100-million.
During a fundraising mission to Ottawa in February, Conservative MPs praised the ICF's plans.
They urged Mr. Peake to apply to Building Canada, a federal fund that has paid for similar railway upgrades in Ontario and Quebec.
B.C. is slated to receive $2.7-billion from Building Canada over the next seven years. But all eligible projects require matching provincial dollars, and the minister responsible, Transport Minister Kevin Falcon, is not convinced rail transit on Vancouver Island makes economic sense.
"The full business case would have to be investigated in detail before we would make any funding requests," he said. "It would require the same due diligence as any other project."
The ICF recently delivered an updated proposal to the minister's office, but Mr. Falcon said he had not had a chance to look at it.
Mr. Peake stressed that the $100-million price tag includes a $16-million investment in repairs and rail cars for a proposed commuter service from downtown Victoria west to Langford that is expected to generate more than of $1-million a year.
A major upgrade would also allow the E&N's operator, Southern Railway of Vancouver Island, to start turning a profit on its freight business.
Southern Railway, which is currently using the tracks free of charge, would then begin forwarding lease payments to the ICF that could be used for further upgrades, he said.
Southern Railway president Frank Butzelaar said yesterday the E&N will cease to exist without investment in its aging infrastructure. "Without this money, without this investment, there is no future for the railway. Period."
Since taking over as the E&N's operator two years ago, Southern Railway has been able to increase freight traffic by 30 per cent, despite being unable to use the potentially lucrative section of track between Parksville and the logging community of Port Alberni, Mr. Butzelaar said.
The company's long-term plans include an $11-million freight terminal on Annacis Island, off Delta, that would provide an efficient, direct link between Southern Railway's Lower Mainland holdings and its terminal in Nanaimo.
Mr. Butzelaar said the company sees great growth potential in shipping lumber from Vancouver Island mills to the Lower Mainland, and added that a cheap rail link to markets in the United States could help rejuvenate the island's struggling forestry industry.
While he is hoping for $100-million in total, Mr. Peake pointed out that funding could be disbursed over a period of years, since the upgrades would be carried out in phases, starting with the proposed commuter route through Greater Victoria.
The Malahat is a terribly crowded and dangerous stretch of highway that would be very difficult and environmentally damaging to expand. Good rail service up to Nanaimo and beyond could eliminate the need for it. Closer in to Victoria, it could also be used as a commuter service.
Work to save E&N Railway, province urged
BRENNAN CLARKE
Special to The Globe and Mail
March 7, 2008
VICTORIA -- A strong vote of confidence from the B.C. government is all that is needed to unlock millions of dollars in federal funding for Vancouver Island's troubled E&N Railway, Island Corridor Foundation co-chair Jack Peake said yesterday.
"From my perspective, Ottawa is on side. Now all we need is for Victoria to recognize that this is a good project," said Mr. Peake, head of the non-profit agency that owns the historical rail line, formerly called the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway.
"It's not a case of B.C. jumping on the bandwagon and taking this to the feds. They're already on board."
Mr. Peake's group has pegged the cost of bringing the little-used railway up to North American standards at more than $100-million.
During a fundraising mission to Ottawa in February, Conservative MPs praised the ICF's plans.
They urged Mr. Peake to apply to Building Canada, a federal fund that has paid for similar railway upgrades in Ontario and Quebec.
B.C. is slated to receive $2.7-billion from Building Canada over the next seven years. But all eligible projects require matching provincial dollars, and the minister responsible, Transport Minister Kevin Falcon, is not convinced rail transit on Vancouver Island makes economic sense.
"The full business case would have to be investigated in detail before we would make any funding requests," he said. "It would require the same due diligence as any other project."
The ICF recently delivered an updated proposal to the minister's office, but Mr. Falcon said he had not had a chance to look at it.
Mr. Peake stressed that the $100-million price tag includes a $16-million investment in repairs and rail cars for a proposed commuter service from downtown Victoria west to Langford that is expected to generate more than of $1-million a year.
A major upgrade would also allow the E&N's operator, Southern Railway of Vancouver Island, to start turning a profit on its freight business.
Southern Railway, which is currently using the tracks free of charge, would then begin forwarding lease payments to the ICF that could be used for further upgrades, he said.
Southern Railway president Frank Butzelaar said yesterday the E&N will cease to exist without investment in its aging infrastructure. "Without this money, without this investment, there is no future for the railway. Period."
Since taking over as the E&N's operator two years ago, Southern Railway has been able to increase freight traffic by 30 per cent, despite being unable to use the potentially lucrative section of track between Parksville and the logging community of Port Alberni, Mr. Butzelaar said.
The company's long-term plans include an $11-million freight terminal on Annacis Island, off Delta, that would provide an efficient, direct link between Southern Railway's Lower Mainland holdings and its terminal in Nanaimo.
Mr. Butzelaar said the company sees great growth potential in shipping lumber from Vancouver Island mills to the Lower Mainland, and added that a cheap rail link to markets in the United States could help rejuvenate the island's struggling forestry industry.
While he is hoping for $100-million in total, Mr. Peake pointed out that funding could be disbursed over a period of years, since the upgrades would be carried out in phases, starting with the proposed commuter route through Greater Victoria.
