The City of Quesnel is pushing to preserve the railroad connecting North Vancouver and Prince George, asking the Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) to fund a study in keeping the line active.
During the Dec. 16 regular council meeting, Mayor Ron Paull presented a report titled ‘Saving the Prince George to North Vancouver Railroad’, which aims to secure the future of the railroad by advancing Indigenous engagement, investment readiness and operator outreach.
Paull said the study started at the Union of B.C. Municipalities meeting from a group of mayors and councillors that were concerned about CN Rail’s announcement to discontinue the use of the rail line through Squamish and Lillooet subdivisions.
“They’re going to turn that back to BC Rail. Well, interestingly enough, BC Rail doesn’t have any trains. So that really puts the whole line between North Vancouver and Prince George into question,” he added.
According to the report, if no operator is secured, the section of the rail line through Squamish and Lillooet subdivision becomes eligible for disposal at a net salvage value.
The report states that the total quoted cost for the work, which spans four phases over approximately five months, is $105,570, including GST and expenses. It would also identify and align federal and provincial funding pathways to enable subsequent due diligence and business case development.
The report suggests that council send letters to support a funding request to the NDIT to get the study going and therefore secure funding for the project.
Councillor Mitch Vik said the letter of support sounds reasonable, but questioned if there has been a discussion on who is going to be the main lead behind it.
Paull responded that he has taken quite an active interest in it as well as Prince George.
“At the beginning, Prince George was indicating that they would, but then they’re not really in the region, they’re at the terminus,” he said.
“We’ll be looking for someone to take the lead on this, but basically what we’re attempting to do now is to get a letter and there are other communities along the line that are having the same discussion, so hopefully, one will bubble to the top, sort of taking the lead.”
Councillor Martin Runge said he sees no issue with writing the letter, but is concerned if the city needs to pay for the $105,570.
“I don’t want to be spending the $105,000 currently, you know, maybe I do later, but right now I don’t want to be the person holding the bag, paying this,” he added.
Paull responded that he wouldn’t want any of that funding to be from the city.
“This is just a letter to NDIT in support of a grant application, period,” the mayor added.
Chief administrative officer Joel McKay clarified that this is a desire by the communities affected by the discontinuance of that line to try and find an operator to step in and fill that void.
“My understanding is that in my discussions with the mayor is there would be no cost to the city whatsoever,” he added.
“What the mayor is asking council to consider is first, a letter to NDIT indicating we are supportive of NDIT funding a study that looks at that short line operator to take over that stretch of the track between Squamish and 100 Mile, but it has implications for everywhere north of there to Prince George.”
McKay added that it was also important to note that NDIT will not act as the administrator for the money they provide for their own projects.
“What the mayor is suggesting is that this is of importance enough to us as a city on this line that, if no one else steps forward, the city of Quesnel would consider being the flow through for the grant funding that would come from NDIT for it,” he explained.
“There would be no cost to us for that except for staff time to basically have the contract with NDIT and then run the money through us and then pay out the project when it’s done on the other side.”
McKay added that he is not in favour of the city of Quesnel being the proponent due to the amount of work that would require staff to work on it, but if no one else is willing to step up, he would be comfortable with the city doing so as long as there are no cost implications.
“Really, the impact is in the area that would be discontinued, which is between Squamish and 100 Mile House. One would hope that some proponent in that area, be it Lillooet or the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District or one of the nations in there, would be better positioned because they are more directly impacted right now to put their hands up and lead it,” he said.
“There is no question that, although the line from 100 Mile House north to Prince George would still be maintained and it would still operate, obviously, you’re not going to have the type of traffic going on it. So there is an implication for 100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Quesnel and Prince George.”
The mayor added that the city’s relationship with Rocky Mountaineer hinges on this situation.
“If there’s no rail service south of us, then Rocky Mountaineer can no longer have Quesnel as an overnight stop,” he said.
Councillor Scott Elliot said he is also in support of giving NDIT a letter in support, but is not in support of Quesnel taking over the administrative position of this project.
“I’d be surprised if Lillooet doesn’t step up. They’ve been talking about this line since the train shut down a decade ago. So, Lillooet’s really taken the lead on this in the past,” he added.
“I would prefer not even mention the possibility of ‘if no one steps up, we’ll do it’ because then probably no one will step up.”
Elliot added he is all in favour of Rocky Mountaineer, calling it a “big thing for our community with the multiplier effect” as visitors would spend their dollars locally. However, he isn’t sure how the company would make the line feasible.
“The public transit they had before, all you have to do is continue to look at the line from Prince Rupert to Prince George, there’s no one on it. I love the line and I love going on the train down to Vancouver too, but I just don’t see how it’s going to be feasible, personally,” he added.
The mayor responded that he wasn’t suggesting that the city take on the whole administrative and financial aspects of the project, but rather discussing how to make recommendations.
“I’d hate to see this thing fall flat on its face by us, you know, saying ‘no, we’re not going to participate in any processes associated with helping to find a facilitator or a financial expert to help us through,’” Paull said.
Elliot appreciated the mayor’s comment, but refuted it, saying that he agrees with McKay’s comment on 100 Mile House to Squamish being the main line, that a local government in that region should be leading.
“That’s where the meat and potatoes are going to happen. Somebody in there should be running the show and for us to even mention the possibility of us looking at, even having the word financial in there, that just kind of spooks me.”
Council approved unanimously a motion to send the support letter to NDIT for the study to be done.