Municipalities urge swift action from CN on Squamish to 100 Mile rail line

While the future of rail operations remains unclear, Farnworth said the Province has no intention of allowing the publicly-owned corridor to disappear.

“Our government is committed to protecting the long-term public interest,” Farnworth said in a statement. “The lands and rail infrastructure are owned by the BC Railway Company, a Crown corporation, and we intend to keep this rail corridor in public hands for the benefit of British Columbians.”

The corridor has not carried freight traffic since 2020, but provincial officials argue it still has significant potential value.

Farnworth said the rail line could support future goods movement, improve supply-chain resilience, connect communities and create economic opportunities if a commercially viable operator can be found.

The announcement was welcomed by municipal leaders who have spent months lobbying senior governments to preserve the railway.

Williams Lake Mayor Surinderpal Rathor said he had been optimistic the Province would step in to protect the corridor.

“I was pretty confident government would come on board and help us,” Rathor said. “If we ever had to build a rail line today, it wouldn’t cost millions of dollars. It would cost billions. It would be difficult for any government to make a decision and remove that infrastructure.”

For communities along the route, the debate extends beyond freight transportation and into questions of emergency preparedness and economic security.

Municipal leaders point to the 2017 and 2018 wildfire seasons, when closures on Highway 97 severely disrupted travel and the movement of goods through the Interior.

Rathor said those experiences highlighted the importance of maintaining transportation alternatives.

“We cannot depend on one source of transportation,” he said, referring to Highway 97.

Supporters argue the line provides critical redundancy at a time when natural disasters increasingly threaten road and rail infrastructure across the province.

Prince George City Councillor Trudy Klassen said the route could play an important role in maintaining supply chains to northern communities, even if it never handles the same freight volumes as CN’s primary mainline through the Fraser Canyon.

“For Prince George, being eight hours from everywhere and yet in the centre of everything, we’re this vital hub for the entire North,” Klassen said.

She noted that major industrial and economic projects planned across northern B.C. will increase pressure on transportation systems in coming years.

“To only have that one route through the Fraser Canyon for rail line is not wise,” she said. “We need this second route.”

Klassen acknowledged the former BC Rail corridor would likely never match the capacity of B.C.’s major freight routes, but said even limited service could be valuable during disruptions.

“Even though this route wouldn’t be able to handle the volume that the other lines do, it could still do some,” she said. “And when you’re talking about food, well, some food matters. A lot.”

The provincial commitment, however, does not guarantee trains will return to the corridor.

The next step in the federal discontinuance process rests largely with CN Rail. The company must decide whether to issue a request for proposals seeking a new operator willing to take over rail operations.

According to supporters of the line, there is at least one interested operator that believes the corridor can eventually become profitable.

Klassen said the prospective operator would likely need time to rebuild traffic volumes and establish track-sharing arrangements in communities such as Quesnel and Williams Lake.

“The operator that we have that is seriously interested really believes that they can be profitable in a few years,” she said.

She added that extending operations farther north toward Prince George could provide additional long-term benefits, although she acknowledged the future structure of any service remains uncertain.

“We’ll see,” she said.

For many municipalities, the Province’s declaration that the corridor will remain publicly owned may be just as significant as the effort to find a new operator.

Community leaders have repeatedly argued that the railway was built to serve British Columbians and should remain available for future public use.

“This rail line belongs to the residents of B.C.,” Klassen said. “It doesn’t belong to any single company or entity. It belongs to the people of B.C., and it needs to serve the people of B.C.”

She said that responsibility is especially important for communities located directly along the route, many of which face limited transportation options.

Meanwhile, CN remains responsible for maintaining the rail infrastructure while the federal discontinuance process continues.

The Province said it has also been engaging with industry partners to better understand potential future uses for the corridor.

Those discussions have examined opportunities ranging from freight transportation to broader economic development initiatives that could capitalize on the existing rail infrastructure.

For now, communities along the route are watching and waiting.

If CN issues a request for proposals, interested operators will have 60 days to demonstrate they can provide a viable future for the railway.

Should no suitable operator emerge, the process would move to the next stage, with the Province positioned to play a larger role in determining the corridor’s future.

While uncertainty remains over who, if anyone, will eventually run trains on the line, one question appears to have been answered: the Province intends to ensure the corridor itself remains in public hands.

For supporters, that commitment preserves an asset they believe could someday become an important part of British Columbia’s transportation network once again.

by Cheryl Jahn

Municipalities urge swift action from CN on Squamish to 100 Mile rail line

What's Trending