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Vegreville Mayor Lobbying for Proposed Rail Route
Vegreville Mayor Lobbying for Proposed Rail Route
Michelle Pinon News Advertiser
Mayor Tim MacPhee is one of several mayors in western Canada lobbying for a different travel route for VIA Rail’s transcontinental passenger train ‘The Canadian’ to follow, one that would provide passage to and from Vegreville along the CN Prairie North Rail Line.
‘The Canadian’ is operated by VIA Rail Canada with service between Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, BC using CN trackage. The proposed route would be diverted from the CN Main Line at Melville, Saskatchewan to Canora, Saskatchewan and then west on the CN Prairie North Line to Edmonton where it connects back to the CN Main Line.
According to a recent report prepared by Prairie North Rail Passenger Train Inc., the proposed route would:
• compete with less CN freight traffic, helping VIA Rail to achieve better on-time performance and improve rail safety
• travel through larger population centres to reach more potential VIA Rail customers
• connect more Indigenous and rural communities
• travel closer to more National Historic Sites and National Parks
• offer more scenic topography
MacPhee said Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers spearheaded the effort with the support of other mayors. “I lent Vegreville’s name to the cause about a year ago. For the last four or five months I’ve been sitting in on the meetings with the mayors and listening to their updates.
It makes sense in all of our opinions of all the mayors that are involved. We had a meeting just before Christmas and one of the mayors had a meeting in Ottawa with the Minister of Transportation. Of course, they don’t give too much of an answer off the bat, but we’re hoping they can see the common-sense side of it.”
For MacPhee, the proposal would be a win-win as it would improve on time performance and increase ridership for VIA Rail, which is a crown corporation. “It all makes sense to have them run on time. There are 80 trains a day on the track they run on, and here the most trains we see run on six to eight a day on this line.
Every time there’s a freight train VIA Rail has to pull over and they get out of whack time wise. In my mind it makes sense coming to Vegreville. Just the exposure of having VIA Rail coming by the Egg, (Pysanka) a couple times a week would be great.” He noted that the train station is a heritage site and would also be a great stopping point for tourists.
“The main line only stops in Wainwright before carrying on to Saskatoon and Winnipeg.” He said there are many Indigenous communities that do not have access to bus service let alone rail service, and there would be many people from those places who would also benefit from the proposed route whether they are travelling for medical appointments or simply visiting other centres for pleasure.
“Right now Indigenous tourism is gaining a lot of strength around the world. People want to see what’s going on in these Indigenous communities in northern Alberta and northern Saskatchewan, so we’re playing that up. Plus, the ridership would go way up by locals accessing VIA Rail to get to the next city. They, (travelers) could plan a holiday around Indigenous communities and events.”
To that end, MacPhee will be reaching out to Metis Crossing, which is located near Smoky Lake, to see if they would support the proposal. He suggested that Metis Crossing could probably run a shuttle out of Vegreville every couple of days to their Interpretive Centre and Lodge. MacPhee will also be approaching Elk Island National Park and the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village to see if they would be interested in supporting the initiative.
Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers said there are many benefits of the proposal, and “from the information that we were able to glean there’s 150,000 people that would be able to access the VIA Rail train from Yorkton to Fort Saskatchewan that are not able to access as easily on the CN main line. And a good number of those people are Indigenous people.”
Aalbers said they are constantly looking at economic diversification and development, and tourism is an area they can build on. “I think that if you can bring the people, you’ll develop the opportunities.”
The proposal has been circulated to several municipalities and various associations as well as
Western Diversification Canada, Minister of Tourism Randy Boissonnault and Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra.
"I think that all individuals involved would say it’s very worthy, but at the same token, we don’t expect an instant decision from the federal government.” Aalbers said they have built a very good business case with supporting documentation and will continue to lobby and advocate for the proposal.