Six months into Southern Railway of B.C.’s operation of the E&N rail line, things are much as they began.
Now – as on July 1 when a subsidiary Southern Railway of Vancouver Island took over freight and passenger service on the Island Corridor Foundation-owned track between Victoria and Courtenay – the problems are much the same.
A lack of freight, and the increasing likelihood that herbicides will be used along the rail for weed control despite near-uniform objection along the line, remain among the big issues facing the railway.
SRVI president John van der Burch said he’s committed to the railway but issued a blunt assessment of its current fortunes.
“With no increase to freight, the operation is marginal and cannot generate enough revenue to replace the needed infrastructure,” he said.
The freight problems, van der Burch said, stem from difficulties obtaining right-of-way on CN-owned tracks to Tilbury – the access point on the mainland where rail cars are loaded for passage to the Island.
“We are still unable to have a direct connection to the Island,” van der Burch said. “We are still negotiating with CN in an effort to gain the much-needed direct access. This is key to develop freight business.”
He also addressed the contentious issue of weed control along the line’s length, defending the likely use of chemicals.
“At present there isn’t other effective ways to control vegetation on the ballast section of the tracks, [but] the use of chemicals is only part of vegetation control,” he said, noting spraying of chemicals will not be done outside the five-metre ballast section of the track.
Mechanical means or hand-cutting will maintain the balance of the 30-metre right-of-way.
“The future viability of the railway has become largely dependent on vegetation control on the line,” van der Burch said.
Joe Stanhope, Regional District of Nanaimo chairman, sits on the ICF’s board and remains adamant that the use of chemical herbicides should not be considered as an alternative.
“There are other ways of doing it. We’ve engaged a company that is looking at all the angles,” said Stanhope.