Island Corridor Foundation chief operating officer Graham Bruce will make an announcement Tuesday morning in Langford regarding funding for the E&N rail line.
Bruce has released a statement that federal, provincial and municipal officials will be attendance at the Langford rail station near Station Avenue and Veterans Memorial Parkway for the 10 a.m. press conference.
Conservative MPs James Lunney (Nanaimo-Alberni) and Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan (Vancouver Island North) are scheduled to attend, meaning the announcement will almost certainly allow the ICF to rehabilitate the aging E&N track.
It’s also likely Bruce will release the results of a bridge and trestle engineering audit conducted last year.
The Island Corridor Foundation has been lobbying the federal government to match $7.5 million pledged by the province in June 2011. The foundation says it will be able to replace rail ties along 290 kilometres of track and relaunch a basic VIA Rail service with $15 million.
Bruce has said its tentative plan would see a VIA Rail Budd car leave Nanaimo in the morning to deliver passengers near CFB Esquimalt, the shipyards and Vic West. The cars would make a few runs between Langford and Vic West during the day, giving the region a first step toward commuter rail, and return to Nanaimo in the evening.
The announcement is at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Stay tuned to goldstreamgazette.com for updates.
