29 January 2010

Town Supportive of Preserving CP Rail Line, County Must Be Involved

Arnprior Ontario - Arnprior council recognizes the importance of preserving the Canadian Pacific (CP) rail line in some form.
 
During the 11 Jan 2010 council meeting, mayor Terry Gibeau went over some information presented during two meetings he attended with CP during the first week of January.
 
"The bottom line is CP is entering into a process that leads to abandonment," Gibeau told his council colleagues.
 
The discussions, initiated by CP and held with Lanark County and Renfrew County municipalities as well as Nipissing, were prompted by an announcement 18 Dec 2009 in which Rail America Inc., the parent company of Ottawa Valley Railway (OVR), stated it has terminated its lease of the OVR line with Canadian Pacific (CP). As a result, Canadian Pacific has 60 days from the end of the lease, as per the Canadian Transportation Act, to decide if train service will be restored on the line once OVR has cleared its remaining cars.
 
Depending on what it decides, the rail line could be abandoned by CP. The rail line stretches from Smiths Falls to Sudbury. The Chalk River subdivision is the track that comes right through Valley towns like Carleton Place, Arnprior, and Renfrew.
 
According to a press release, RailAmerica Inc. received $73 million (Canadian funds) in gross proceeds as part of the terms of the agreement.
 
Gibeau said the process CP is following for the portion of the rail line in question includes advertising the line to a private purchaser. If none comes forward, then it will be offered to governments. If there are no expressions of interest then at that point, it will be discontinued and abandoned.
 
After an appearance on CTV Ottawa 5 Jan 2010, Gibeau said he received calls from Lanark County as well as Nipissing with the same concerns as Arnprior. After a meeting in Petawawa, it was decided the County of Renfrew will take the lead and deal with these other communities.
 
"The county will begin a process to make sure the line doesn't get abandoned and sold off in pieces," the mayor stated, adding the whole point of municipalities getting together is so "the whole thing doesn't get to that."
 
Looking forward, Gibeau said there might be some way for Arnprior to be part of a solution for the rail line.
 
"We could look at joining the existing CP rail line with the old CN line that is used by Nylene," Gibeau stated. "That would provide an opportunity to come across the existing CP trestle. Then you can go from Arnprior to Ottawa in 40 minutes."
 
Gibeau is actively involved with Transport Renfrew-Pontiac initiative which is looking to take over the old CN Beachburg line and operate it as a commuter, tourism, and freight line. And he pledged to be involved with the CP issue as well.
 
"It's not a case of either/or (rail line), it is a case of both being needed," Gibeau stated.
 
While the mayor admitted that the number of tons of material that had been moving on the CP track "was minimal," preserving it could be a lifeline for some Valley municipalities.
 
"For people further up the line, it is critical," Gibeau added.
 
"It's (abandoning the line), abandoning the communities up there," added councillor Nancy Black.
 
County Comments on Issue
 
During the 18 Jan 2010 Committee of the Whole meeting, reeve Walter Stack (the town's representative at Renfrew County council) relayed some comments on the rail issue with which the mayor appeared a bit concerned.
 
Stack said there is no money in the 2010 county budget allocated to the rail line.
 
"The county has some very limited interest in being in the railway business," he said.
 
For his part, Gibeau said no one said the county should get into the railway business.
 
"The county should be involved in saving the rail line," Gibeau stated. "No one is asking the county to buy a rail business."
 
It is estimated that the net salvage value of the rail line is $65 million.
 
Theresa Fritz.