(Alice McFarlane/farmnewsNOW Staff)

By Alice McFarlane

Port of Churchill

Short line rail service to Churchill

Mar 19, 2019 | 2:04 PM

Several groups will be meeting this week to discuss the ability to move grain from central Saskatchewan by short line rail to the Port of Churchill.

The Hudson Bay Route Association, the Western Canadian Short Line Rail Association, a former CN Rail executive and other interested groups will be in Mistatim on Thursday afternoon.

Northern Lights Rail President Wayne Bacon said the meeting could determine if it makes economic sense to ship grain to Churchill using short lines in the area.

One of the big questions is the rail line that runs through Mistatim. The former CN rail line is roughly 50 miles long and has not been used for several years.

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Bacon said Thursday’s discussion will be a turning point.

“If this line does not go it will make it a lot tougher to use Churchill because it will be ripped up. If nobody buys it and we’d basically have to head south so your freight gets expensive,” Bacon said. “It’s going to depend on who is going to run that port up there.”

Bacon said he has toured the Port of Churchill and it could be operated well with the right management.

“I think there could be a lot of grain moved out of that but again we need a good operator in there,” he said.

The meeting is being held Thursday at the Mistatim Town Hall starting at 1:30 p.m.

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alice.mcfarlane@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @AliceMcF