Island Corridor Foundation

Island rail service to continue during feasibility study. Urgency remains for securing critical upgrades to infrastructure.

NANAIMO, B.C. – The Island Corridor Foundation, (ICF) the non-profit group which owns Vancouver Island"s 290-km rail corridor, announced today it has reached a new interim three-year service agreement with the rail line"s current operator, Southern Railway of Vancouver Island Limited (SVI).

“This agreement with SVI is an important step in our on-going campaign to bring the Island Rail Corridor up to current standards and ensure that the benefits of rail will continue to flow for Island businesses and residents,” said Mary Ashley, co-chair of ICF"s Board of Directors.

“While this means that rail traffic will continue to roll across Vancouver Island while the government completes its study to determine the costs of up-grading the Island Rail Corridor, it does not reduce the urgency for securing the financing to proceed with the upgrading. Rail traffic could still end if the line becomes unsafe to operate,” she said.

“We will continue to serve our customers,” said Frank Butzelaar, CEO of Southern rail. “But they and we know that for rail operations to continue on Vancouver Island beyond the short term there is an immediate need for capital infrastructure dollars. The status quo is no longer an option for this railway. I"m pleased that we have been able to demonstrate that there is a broad level of support for this project across Vancouver Island and I"m encouraged by the Province"s recent commitment to study the socio-economic benefits of rail and the important role it can play in terms of rebuilding the Vancouver Island economy.”

The ICF"s Board has been in negotiations for a long-term service agreement with SVI, but after the province announced its intention to spend $500,000 on a feasibility study to determine the costs and viability of up-grading the Island Rail Corridor for freight and passenger travel, both sides agreed that a long-term agreement should wait until the study was completed.

“Without the commitment of the provincial and federal government dollars for infrastructure upgrades, the long term viability of rail on Vancouver Island is uncertain,” says Ashley. “ICF and SVI believe that infrastructure spending like the proposed rail upgrades will provide a necessary economic stimulus and we hope that both governments will recognize this fact and support the upgrades to assist in the revitalization of Vancouver Island"s economy.”

“SVI has run a very efficient and effective rail operation since being chosen as the operator, despite the imitations of an existing rail structure which is in desperate need of renewal. They have proven that the economics of maintaining and expanding a viable rail freight operation on the Island are feasible. And once the structure is renewed, the longer-term benefits to the Island"s economy are enormous,” Ashley said.

“The Island Rail Corridor is a valuable and unique economic resource and we are confident that the continued operation of the rail line and the results of the government"s feasibility study will ensure that the benefits of a viable rail operation continue to be available to Island businesses.”