A commentary by a View Royal councillor who supports keeping the rail corridor intact.
Twenty years ago, a visionary group of local government and First Nations leaders from up, down and across the Island met to discuss how to save a beleaguered rail corridor as a transportation and land asset for future generations.
They saw the 289-kilometre E&N corridor that linked communities from Courtenay to Victoria and Parksville to Port Alberni as a valuable and founding Vancouver Island asset being largely ignored by the CPR, its owner of the day.
The railroad needed maintenance and its tracks carried only limited freight and a beloved Dayliner that everyone acknowledged ran in the wrong direction.
That initial group saw a contiguous existing corridor, full of potential for future generations. They came up with an idea: to form a charitable society with a goal of preserving the corridor so that, in time, it could host services that would best benefit the Island and its economy: commuter rail, tourist excursions, more freight and a fibre-optic cable conduit were all possible if the corridor remained intact.
They figured the CPR might be happy to wash its hands of Vancouver Island, so they pitched an offer. For $1, the new Island Corridor Foundation would take on responsibility for the corridor. The national rail company agreed and they had a deal.
That’s it. Just $1 and it belonged to the Island. So you’d think keeping a contiguous stretch of nearly 300 kilometres would be a no-brainer.
From the start it was going to require investment by both the federal and provincial governments and, over the years, both senior governments agreed to funding, but never at the same time.
Then-premier Christy Clark announced her government’s commitment to the corridor, but the federal government didn’t chime in. In 2012 the feds made a funding announcement, but the province stayed mum.
Meanwhile, freight service led by ICF partner Southern Railway has taken considerable tanker and truck traffic off roads, and the ICF has prepared a business case more than once to get governments back on side.
Now the clock is ticking on the corridor’s future. By court order, senior governments have until March 15 to commit to use it or allow the Island to lose it.
Both the province and the feds have been silent on their intentions, as have MPs and MLAs representing communities linked by the corridor.
The price tag on maintaining and developing the corridor has risen exponentially over the years since earlier governments were prepared to ante up, but it still remains the only existing and viable transportation option to address the Island’s future needs.
The role and opportunities posed by an existing rail corridor were recognized this past September by local governments all across B.C. when a View Royal resolution calling on the province and the feds to commit to funding was unanimously endorsed by the Union of B.C. Municipalities membership.
I believe if the provincial and federal governments care about the future of Vancouver Island, by March 15 they will commit to funding it over time.
It was secured for just $1 and without government leadership and vision, we risk losing it forever.
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