Rail-yard relocation analysis needed

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/03/2018 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Relocate the CP rail yard? Depending on who is talking, it’s a great idea with many wonderful ramifications, or it’s a pie-in-the-sky idea because it would cost a fortune to move Canadian Pacific Railway from its inner-city yards.

The problem is that, to date, it’s been only that — talk. Lots of guesswork, little reliable analysis.

That’s why a new city group is to be commended for its effort to get three levels of government to restart a feasibility study. Representatives of the group met Thursday with city representatives, including Mayor Brian Bowman. They left with warm handshakes but no commitment from the city to participate in a feasibility study.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. The provincial government hired former Quebec premier Jean Charest in 2016 to lead a task force to study the issue, but that initiative — which cost $400,000 — was dropped when the new Progressive Conservative government replaced the NDP.

The effort to restart the feasibility study is being pushed this time by local leaders known for their accomplishments. The self-named Rail Yard Relocation Project includes former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy, retired judge Charles Huband, Point Douglas activist Sel Burrows, Council of Women past president Arlene Jones, architect Brent Bellamy and retired senior officials from CP Rail.

Leaders of this calibre don’t group together to lobby for a new bus stop. They recognize moving the CP rail yard would be a massive project with many significant spinoffs. For instance:

The 400-acre parcel of centrally located land would be open to housing, businesses and recreational developments.

Moving the rail yard would eliminate the construction of costly bridges over the rail line. As only one example, the Arlington Street Bridge currently needs to be built again, at a cost of at least $330 million.

It would let the CPR move its operations to space that has been set aside in northwest Winnipeg, connecting closer to the stream of trucks using CentrePort Canada and the cargo planes using Richardson International Airport. It would be the missing piece of the long-term plan to make CentrePort an unsurpassed transportation hub by bringing together the cargo of road, air and rail.

Moving the yards would not be without disadvantages. For instance, some Winnipeg businesses rely on rail spur lines that would need to be rethought if they are not directly fed from the current inner-city CPR lines.

But, before hands begin to wring with worry, it’s necessary to get the facts by commissioning reliable information on the potential economic and civic planning impacts of moving the yards. Two Saskatchewan cities are already ahead of Winnipeg in that.

Regina and Saskatoon have studied the advantages and disadvantages of moving rail yards outside of their urban centres. Encouragingly, Saskatoon’s feasibility study found the costs of moving its yards to be $560 million, far lower than the billions of dollars claimed before the matter was studied.

Yes, the possibility of such a mammoth project will encounter many critics, but Winnipeg currently benefits from major projects that were initially decried by naysayers and took patience and persistence to develop. If the small thinkers had prevailed, neither Duff’s Ditch nor The Forks development would have succeeded.

It’s too early to say whether moving the CPR yards is in the best interest of the city and the railway. But it’s about time to study the matter so decisions are based on responsible research instead of guesswork.