After the emergence of rumours over the last month, OmniTrax Canada has confirmed that it intends to sell the Hudson Bay Railway as well as the Port of Churchill, citing a lack of return on investment. The Hudson Bay Railway begins in The Pas and services several remote communities along its route north up to Churchill. The Port of Churchill is Canada’s only deep-sea Arctic port.
Hudson Bay Route Association president Sinclair Harrison expressed concern with the sale, and the lack of publicity surrounding the event. “It’s a huge concern for all communities along the line. It’s a concern for the province of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and as you’re aware, Churchill is Canada’s only deep-sea Arctic port, so it becomes a national interest.”
For now, Harrison can only hope for a smooth process: “If it’s going to be sold, we hope it happens quickly. When something’s for sale and nothing’s happening, it’s difficult for people to make plans. There soon should be discussions between grain shippers for the coming season, and if it’s not sold in spring, shippers, I think, are going to be reluctant to make a commitment.”
In an interview with the Western Producer, Harrison noted that grain shipments along the Hudson Bay Railway had slumped dramatically, from 540,000 tonnes in 2014 to a mere 184,600 tonnes this year. However, OmniTrax Canada president Merv Tweed says the decision has already been a long time coming: “It’s been a long-term pull for the OmniTrax company, and at some point investors want a return on their investment. We’ve managed the port, I think, in a good way, and put it in a position where it can be profitable, but I feel that the railway is a service to the communities in the north, and we believe there’s other organizations out there who might have an interest in it, where profitability isn’t necessarily its main objective.” According to Tweed, the rail company has already received several inquiries into the sale.
As Arctic ice melts and governments begin to consolidate their claims on Arctic territory, the Churchill port has the potential to be at the forefront of a growing Arctic supply chain. However, Tweed says that long-term investment was never part of OmniTrax’s plan for the port or the Hudson Bay Railway: “I think when OmniTrax bought the railroad, their long-term vision was to keep it operational and build the infrastructure, but I think that at some point, their position was always to return it to Canadian ownership. I think that’s an important part of this deal.”
