Elden Boon (centre), president of the Hudson Bay Route Association, speaks to a crowd of stakeholders and local elected officials on the importance of maintaining railways in Western Canada. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Tisdale Subdivision

‘If it’s gone, it’s gone’: Tisdale subdivision’s future discussed

Mar 25, 2019 | 12:08 PM

It’s unknown what will end up becoming of the Tisdale subdivision, although one thing is clear for CN Railway: it’s not viable for them.

As CN has put the Tisdale subdivision on its three-year discontinuous plan, the 53-mile railway between Hudson Bay and Kearley could be for sale.

The Hudson Bay Route Association held a public meeting in Mistatim with stakeholders and elected officials in local municipalities, which featured multiple speakers that included a representative from CN, to discuss the state of the Tisdale subdivision.

John Brayley, a spokesperson for CN, said the cost to re-open the subdivision after being purchased would be in excess of $12 million, as the sight would need to be cleared of bushes and trees, have repairs to bridges and culverts, and rehabilitate road crossings.

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“There’s been no traffic in the line for 15 years,” Brayley said. “Most of the traffic is grain and it goes to the Ports of Vancouver, Thunder Bay, and Churchill. The elected officials here are going to have to decide what’s best for their municipalities. It’s going to be the citizens that decide at the end of the day, but from a business perspective they’re going to need an awful lot of business to make it work.”

Elden Boon, president of the Hudson Bay Route Association, believes purchasing the Tisdale subdivision would have an economic impact with it being the shortest route from Northeast Saskatchewan to the Port of Churchill in Manitoba.

“The Port of Churchill, there’s going to be some big things happening up there that we haven’t seen in forever,” Boon said. “They’re looking at a full service port that’s going to import and export, but you need the rail systems to accommodate that. It’s not just the R.M. right here, it’s all of them that would have a positive impact if this railway is in operation.

“I think they need to understand that if this chunk of rail line disappears, it’s not going to come back.”

Containers, grain, phosphate, and potash are some of the imports from the Port of Churchill that Boon believes can be shipped with help from a running subdivision.

Aside from potential business involved with the Port of Churchill, Boon said it’s important to just retain railways.

“We’ve lost so many here in Western Canada in the last 15 to 20 years and we need to retain them, especially key ones that may have a bearing on the future of Churchill, and this one does,” he said.

Boon recommends the interested stake holders and local municipal officials to form a steering committee and discuss if purchasing it – plus spending nearly $12 million to refurbish it – is affordable and worth the investment.

CN will put out its notice of intent to discontinue on Sept. 19, 2019. Once the notice is public, private parties will have 60 days to purchase the Tisdale subdivision. If no private party steps forward, CN will then offer it to the provincial and municipal governments, and they will have 30 days to purchase.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow