The U.S. rail company that owns the severed line to Churchill, Man. has a plan to restore the only means of land-based transportation in and out of the community before winter. But it says the price of repairing damage caused by severe flooding in May is too steep for a route it has deemed no longer commercially viable.
Denver-based OmniTRAX Inc., one of North America鈥檚 largest private railroad and transportation companies, is looking to governments and First Nations to foot the bill for what it says is essentially a public utility.
鈥淲e just can鈥檛 make sense out of investing more money into this railway,鈥� chief commercial officer Peter Touesnard told 麻豆影视, following a technical briefing with various stakeholders on Tuesday. 鈥淔or the last 20 years, we鈥檝e been attempting to operate it as a commercial business, but unsuccessfully. With the flood, it really highlighted the point that this is not a commercially viable operation.鈥�
The company estimates it sunk more than $75 million into the Hudson Bay Railway between 1997 and 2015, and claims deeper losses have mounted over the past year. The cost of restoring rail access to Churchill, according to the company, is somewhere between $20 million and $60 million.
Floods shut down rail service on May 24, cutting off all ground transportation in and out of Churchill.
鈥淲e see that it can be built before spring, but it will take a lot of cooperation and money to do that,鈥� Touesnard said. 鈥淲e will be looking to meet with the province, looking to meet with the federal government, and looking to meet with First Nations leaders to advance the discussions that we had here today.鈥�
Churchill Mayor Mike Spence has heard enough talk. He said residents are angry that no physical progress has been made after nearly two months of being virtually stranded.
鈥淲ere running out of time here,鈥� he told reporters on Tuesday. 鈥淚t is frustrating. As soon as it happened, we indicated the importance of getting a plan up and running.鈥�
Spence said the window of time for completing repairs before winter will close near the end of October.
Finishing the job will be an undoubtedly tall order. No materials have been ordered due to the lack of funding. Touesnard figures buying supplies, and getting essential equipment to Churchill will require $12 million, before accounting labour costs.
Touesnard is not optimistic that OmniTRAX鈥檚 repair plan will be carried before snow starts to fly. He said his talks with the Manitoba government have so far focused on forming a plan B.
鈥淢ost of the work we have been doing with them to this point has been around contingencies, around emergency response and so on,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e are concerned that the rail line will not be rebuilt until the spring of next year.鈥�
Meanwhile, the cost of living in a 鈥渇ly-in鈥� community is weighing heavily on residents. The province upped its food affordability subsidy on Tuesday to help ease the burden of skyrocketing prices for essentials like milk, infant formula, and fresh fruit and vegetables.
The price for a four-litre jug of milk is currently $12.
Spence worries the lack of rail access will cut into Churchill鈥檚 sizeable ecotourism industry. The town of about 1,000 residents takes on as many as 500 guests per day during polar bear season, he said.
Churchill has been dubbed the 鈥減olar bear capital of the world鈥� by tourists who flock to town to see the massive animals between mid-October and the end of November. Bear watcher are often driven around in modified busses known as 鈥渢undra buggies鈥� to get an up-close look.
Beluga whales and hundreds of bird species also lure tourism dollars to Churchill. Spence said there have been layoffs since the railway was severed.
鈥淲e鈥檙e running out of time here,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he community has gotten a heck of a lot more frustrated because there isn鈥檛 a plan in play.鈥�
The uncertainty is also starting to weigh on Churchill resident Joe Stover. He said living in northern Manitoba teaches you to be resilient when times are tough.
鈥淧eople are still in that limbo stage where you don鈥檛 really know what is going to go on,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e slowly getting used to being in a fly in, fly out community.鈥�
With a report from CTV Winnipeg鈥檚 Stephanie Tsicos
