GOWESTFOR

THE Western Canadian Short Line Railway Association (WCSLRA) works on behalf of its members to bring issues of importance to short line railways to the attention of regulators.

Short lines build industry capacity to promote Western Canada’s agricultural exports, servicing thousands of producer cars per year and transporting resources and agricultural products from many businesses that are built directly on short line railways.

Rachel Mackenzie, WCSLRA Director, Communications and Government Relations, talked with Freight Tracks about the association and its work to/from interchange with a Class 1 railway. Within our network, our Class 1 partners are CN and CPKC.

All Western Canadian short lines are former CN and CP branch lines that have been purchased by local ownership groups or other investors and now operate as independent railways, often under provincial regulation.

FT: What percentage of Canadian short lines are in your membership?

Mackenzie: The Western Canadian Short Line Railway Association has a focus on agriculturally-based short line railways operating in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba.

FT: What is your definition of 'short line'?

Mackenzie: My definition of 'short line' is a railway that serves local customer facilities and delivers a wide range of freight traffic

TheSaskatoon-based Western Canadian Short Line Railway Association, previously the Saskatchewan Short Line Railway Association, is a not-for-profit membership based organisation representing the interest of short line railways across Western Canada.

Of the short line railways within these three provinces, 75% are members of our Association. We are hoping to expand our presence even further, especially in Manitoba.

FT: What is the general ownership model of Canadian short lines? Are they stock companies with very local ownership? Does private equity have any interests in short lines?

Mackenzie: The ownership models of short line railways in Western Canada are quite diverse. The ownership structures of our members include local stakeholder ownership groups (often a mixture of local agricultural producers/community members, rural municipalities, towns and villages), new generation