A ticking clock has been applied to the E&N Rail by the BC Court of Appeal, with senior government given 18 months to decide whether a return of rail service is feasible. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

rail decision

Decision on future of E&N Rail given 18 months after Snaw-Naw-As appeal rejected

Sep 14, 2021 | 11:15 AM

NANAIMO — The E&N Trail rail lines running through Snaw-Naw-As First Nation will remain property of the government, at least for now.

On Tuesday, Sept. 14, the BC Court of Appeal announced they upheld a prior BC Supreme Court ruling indicating a right of way through Snaw-Naw-As to accommodate the line would remain for at least 18 months, despite it no longer being used for its initial purpose.

The Court suggested plans remained to use the land, maintained by the Island Corridor Foundation, for transportation.

“The cessation of service is more than temporary but ICF intends to restore the entire rail corridor to allow active rail services if it is able to secure sufficient funding from government,” the ruling from Justice’s Fisher and Abrioux read.

The ruling did lay out a timeline for a potential removal of the right of way and return of the lands in their territory to Snaw-Naw-As First Nation.

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Fisher and Abrioux said in their response there must be a firm timeline for the government to make a decision on the future of the trail.

“Given the comprehensive information now available about the condition of the railway, the work that needs to be done and the projected costs to do so, a period of 18 months from the date of this judgment should be sufficient for Canada to determine whether it will approve funding for infrastructure improvements.”

The ruling did say the likelihood of resuming rail-based travel on the line was contingent on the federal and provincial governments financing the project, which there has been little appetite for so far.

B.C.’s ministry of transportation and infrastructure released an assessment on the E&N Rail Line in late April 2020.

It suggested the cost of required upgrades needed to resume passenger rail traffic between Parksville and Duncan to be around $96 million. It suggested between two and four passenger trains daily would operate for that price point.

A full capacity restoration with eight trains daily would need nearly $234 million. An additional $600 million would be required to bring commuter services online to the E&N Rail Line.

The Island Corridor Foundation agreed with the province’s assessment of the track, but disputed its repair estimations.

Passenger rail service between Courtenay and Nanaimo abruptly halted in 2011, however a small section of track in Nanaimo is still relied on for industrial use.

Since passenger rail traffic stopped, calls for the trail to be turned into a bike or pedestrian track have grown over time.

Alastair Craighead, chair of the Friends of Rails to Trails-Vancouver Island, previously told NanaimoNewsNOW there was little reason to cling to rail when alternatives work elsewhere.

“It’s an old Victorian railway and it doesn’t matter how much you spend on it, it will still be an old Victorian railway,” he said.

The trail idea was also previously supported by then-Snaw-Naw-As Chief Brent Edwards.

“Yes the railway has benefitted Vancouver Island in the past,” Edwards said in May 2020. “Now…it’s time to see and explore how else it’s going to benefit us now and in the future. This doesn’t mean just rail.”

Efforts from the Island Corridor Foundation to restore the line and provide rail service continue.

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