2009

26 September 2009 CP Rail Considering New $400-Million Rail Tunnel to Detroit Windsor Ontario - Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. has been quietly advancing plans for a new $400-million rail tunnel under the Detroit River and will probably start digging two years from now.   Richard Blouse, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber of commerce, said he expects CP officials will give the green light before the end of the year to dig a large-diameter tunnel between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit that's big enough to allow double-stacked railway cars to pass under the Detroit River.   A construction permit for the new tunnel has already been issued on the U.S. side, sources said Friday, but the environmental assessment process has only just begun on the Canadian side and will take up to 18 months to complete.   CP and its partners have been quietly lining up Canadian political support for the rail-only project, although excavation probably won't start for at least two years, sources indicate.   The number of construction jobs alone to be created by the project will run into "thousands," according to one.   "Some time before Christmas, you'll hear more about this rail tunnel we've been hearing about for years," Blouse told a breakfast meeting of the Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce this week. "It's going to get built." "I'm told it's imminent,"   Blouse said later when pressed for more details. "It would be good to hear an announcement to get it going. It's a very major part of the infrastructure we need."   Mike Rohrer, director of community and business relations for the pension funds which own the existing tunnel, confirmed Friday that construction plans are moving forward. But he cautioned that the final decision is still some distance off.   The century-old existing tunnel being used by CP "needs to be replaced," Rohrer said. "It's coming, but we're not there yet. Expect good news in the near future."   CP's plans to acquire a larger tunnel to the U.S. have been around for more than a decade - since Canadian National Railway Co. built its own double-stack rail tunnel in Sarnia, Ont., about 100 kilometres northeast of Windsor.   The two companies shared the Windsor-Detroit route until Sarnia opened.   Chris Vander Doelen.

OKthePK Vancouver Island British Columbia Canada - http://www.OKthePK.ca/