9 February 2011
Possible Rail Line Purchase Progresses
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The Ottawa Valley line overgrown with weeds. |
Lanark County Ontario - Lanark County is officially interested in buying part of the Ottawa
Valley Rail Line.
On 2 Feb 2011, councillors passed a motion to send Canadian Pacific Rail a letter saying the county wants "first refusal rights" on the Chalk River
subdivision: roughly 160-kilometres of rail bed, trestles, and bridges stretching between Smiths Falls and Petawawa.
"It's just simply to stop the clock, if you will, to give us an opportunity to put together a plan for down the road so that the opportunity for a tourism
trail isn't lost," said Sharon Mousseau, warden of Lanark County.
While CP Rail had set a 5 Feb 2011 deadline for proposals from interested buyers, the rail company has indicated a willingness to give Lanark County first dibs
on the infrastructure before tearing it down or selling to another party, Mousseau said.
The letter to CP Rail is to be written jointly with Renfrew County, which is interested in acquiring the North Bay subdivision.
"The next step is to wait and see. The two counties need to get together and come up with a plan of where to go from here," said Mousseau.
She said this is a "very, very preliminary" step towards buying the rail line, and the county has not committed to any purchase at all. She expects
that further progress on this matter won't come until next fall.
While an estimated $50 million price tag has been put on the rail line, Mousseau said that figure is for the intact, operational railway, not the property
alone. She emphasized the county is only interested in buying the bed, trestles, and bridges for the purpose of a recreational trail.
"The rails are coming out, that train has left the station," she said.
As for the county's request: "The ball's in CP Rail court."
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