Railways say Saskatoon’s plans to move train lines won’t work

Canada’s two rail giants said city hall’s plans to move or alter the train lines in Saskatoon won’t work.

Both Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific (CP) railways, in letters received by the city’s transportation committee on Tuesday, said the plans to relocate or share the tracks, or build under- and overpasses, weren’t viable.

A senior official at CP — which owns the tracks that cut through the city — said moving or constructing overpasses is “fundamentally unworkable.”

James Clements, a vice-president at CP, wrote that doing so would severely constrain the capacity and efficiency of the rail system and would “harm all shippers that depend on a healthy rail system.

Lindsay Brumwell, a public affairs manager with CN, wrote that sharing tracks is “not feasible” because it reduces the flexibility of the rail companies “which would harm the Canadian economy.”

City council began exploring the idea several years ago in order to increase safety and traffic flow through the city.

Councillors voted to hire HDR Corporation, an engineering firm, in 2017 to prepare a report on the options. In June the council moved to share those ideas with the railways.

On Tuesday the city received responses.

Both companies touted the economic benefits railways bring to Saskatchewan and their own safety measures. The letter from CN says the company made “record investments” in the province over the past three years and that is investing in upgrading its infrastructure.

Both letters also say the report wasn’t extensive enough in its examination of the impact on Indigenous communities, the environment and regulatory challenges, among other things.

Ward 2 Coun. Hilary Gough said the position of the railways essentially scuttles the project as is, noting the city doesn’t have the authority to proceed alone, but said she had

Gough isn’t a member of the transportation committee but requested to speak during it.

She had previously requested an update from the administration on a report about whether over- and underpasses could be built at individual intersections.

“Not every intersection is created equal,” she said, speaking to Global News over the phone on Sunday, “and the impact of the delays and the lack of access at each at-grade intersection are different.”

The administration told Gough the report will likely be finished early next year.

Gough said rail safety and the flow of traffic was a concern for Saskatoon residents but especially those in Montgomery Place, “the only neighbourhood in our city that has the potential to be entirely cut off by rail.”

During the meeting, Mayor Charlie Clark said his intention was to keep working with the railways and to have very strategic conversations.

“I believe there are still some solutions that could increase the safety and the efficiency of traffic and rail movement.”

4:01 City councillor on rail diversion discussion