When it comes to rail service, Churchill residents are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a passenger train set to arrive Dec. 4 after a two-day trip from Winnipeg.
This will mark the first time that a Via Rail train has pulled into Churchill since May 2017, when severe flooding washed away multiple sections of the Hudson Bay Railway (HBR).
Since the rail line is the only land link out of Churchill, Mayor Mike Spence said this is an important development for residents, especially with Christmas right around the corner.
“With the holiday season approaching, it is great news to have passenger service back, connecting family members in our northern communities,” Spence said in a Nov. 26 press release. “With the strong support of the federal government we are now focused on ensuring the investments made will result in new opportunities for visitors and new opportunities for economic development.”
With federal government financial assistance, the big player responsible for restoring rail service is the Arctic Gateway Group, a consortium of businesses, northern communities and First Nations that took over the railway from former owner OmniTrax in late August 2018.
Once this deal was finalized, workers began repairs on the railway almost immediately, leading to the ceremonial return of rail service to Churchill on Oct. 31.
“It was an incredible night of Halloween when the train whistle blew,” said Murad Al-Katid, president of AGT Foods and Ingredients and member of the Arctic Gateway Group, during his keynote speech at the University College of the North’s Linkages Conference in The Pas Nov. 7. “Kids stopped trick or treating and ran to see the train, so that tells you how important that is to the people of Churchill.”
With freight services having resumed as of Nov. 24, the railway is also opening up new opportunities to stimulate Northern Manitoba’s economy, its new owners say.
Combined with the Port of Churchill, which was also acquired by Arctic Gateway in their deal with OmniTrax, Al-Katid said that the infrastructure is now in place to help turn Northern Manitoba into a vital source of shipping for not just the province, but all of Canada.
“Churchill is the only rail-served, Arctic port in North America. And today 20 per cent of the GDP of Russia goes through their Arctic ports,” he said. “Part of the economic future of our country could actually be tied to the success that the communities can have in this initiative.”
Via Rail president Yves Desjardins-Siciliano said in a press release that his company is happy to resume providing an essential service for northern residents.
"The restoration of service will enable Via Rail to continue to honour its commitment to remote communities, and enable those in Northern Manitoba to hopefully return to a more normal life by being better connected,” he said.
