Canadian National has announced plans to start freight service on 75 per cent of the rail network operated by bankrupt short-line Kelowna Pacific Railway.
CN will resume operations on 97 miles of track running from Campbell Creek, 10 miles east of Kamloops, to Vernon, the Lumby junction and Lumby,
CN will discontinue track KPR operated between the Lumby junction and Kelowna because of insufficient freight traffic.
“I’m pleased to say that the parties were able to come together to assemble the right business and labour conditions to justify the resumption of rail traffic on the major portion of the KPR as well as a sizeable capital investment required to protect rail service in the region,” said Jim Vena, CN executive vice-president and chief operating officer.
“We are targeting the resumption of operations as soon as we can ensure the track is brought back to a standard to ensure safe train operations.”
This move comes after CN reached trustee, customer and labour agreements that support resumption of operations.
KPR, which leased its network from CN in 1999, entered receivership on July 5, 2013, and halted operations. CN has reached agreements with the line’s trustee to take it out of the bankruptcy process, Tolko Industries., the main customer on the line, and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference and TCRC-Maintenance of Way Employees Division.
The TCRC and TCRC-MWED represent 35 locomotive engineers, conductors and track maintenance workers employed by the insolvent B.C. short-line railway.
