Passenger rail service to return to Churchill in early December

The town of Churchill’s passenger rail service will resume within the week.

Churchill Mayor Mike Spence made the announcement Monday night, saying VIA Rail has scheduled the first passenger train in 18 months to depart Winnipeg on Dec. 2 and arrive in Churchill Dec. 4.

“The return of VIA Rail service is huge news for our community and has been a long time coming,” he said in a press release.

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The town of Churchill has been without rail service for 18 months after a flood washed out several portions of the rail tracks in May of 2017.

While the federal government and the former owners of the tracks, Omnitrax, fought over who would fix the rail line, the people of Churchill watched their economy suffer as prices soared and tourism suffered.

The line was bought in the summer of 2018 by a consortium of owners called Arctic Gateway Group, including First Nations organizations.

The rail tracks were subsequently repaired in record time and freight train service returned to the town last week.