11 February 2010

Interested Purchasers Look at Railway Line

The Welcome to Armstrong CN caboose.

Armstrong British Columbia - Three unidentified groups have expressed an interest in purchasing all or parts of 32 miles of rail line between Armstrong and Sicamous.
 
The line has been closed since 1 Sep 2009, and is to be discontinued by Canadian Pacific Railway if no buyer is found.
 
"All I can say is we had three people who made expressions of interest in the line," said CP spokesman Kevin Hrysak.
 
"We are in discussions relating to the line, but all of the discussions are confidential."
 
Hrysak did say that all three expressions of interest came from British Columbia.
 
According to the Canada Transport Act, CP Rail and those who expressed interest can negotiate in good faith for up to six months.
 
"We're well into the process," said Hrysak.
 
"I'm not exactly sure of a termination date for negotiations. As I stated, we're in confidential discussions at the moment."
 
If the expressions of interest had been deemed not credible, CP Rail has said the next step in the discontinuation process is to offer the line for sale to governments.
 
That would start with the federal government, then the provincial government, and finally, to municipal authorities.
 
Each level of government would have 30 days to respond.
 
If there is no response, the railway line would be sold for salvage value.
 
Ballpark figures for the lines have been estimated between $1.5 million and $4 million.
 
Shutting down the line has affected a number of area businesses who used the line to ship and receive materials.
 
Roger Knox.