SooToday received the following news release from the office of Sault MP Bryan Hayes at 10 p.m.
Funding extended for three years
OTTAWA, ON - Bryan Hayes, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie, on behalf of the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, announced today that the Government of Canada will provide $5.3 million over three years for the continued operation of the passenger rail service between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst, Ontario.
Since 1977, the Government of Canada has provided financial support to ensure the continued operation of the passenger rail service between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst under the Regional and Remote Passenger Rail Services Class Contribution Program.
Quote:
“The Harper government is pleased to provide funding over the next three years to maintain operation of the passenger rail service between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst. We thank the Central Railway Passenger Service Stakeholder Working Group for their extensive study, as this funding will give the City time to put in place a long-term solution for passenger rail service in the area.”
Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie
The hands on the clock in the lobby of the Algoma Central Railway (ACR) station in downtown Sault Ste. Marie sit permanently at 12 o’clock.
Whether broken or without power, that time seems poignant as an eleventh-hour deal to save the passenger service never materialized.
With government funding finished as of today, what may be the final ACR passenger train was scheduled to arrive in Sault Ste. Marie this evening.
Sault Ste. Marie Member of Parliament Bryan Hayes said Tuesday he is still hopeful.
“I met with Minister Raitt this morning to see where things were at from her perspective and of course to once again lobby my position. I don’t want any interruption in service and obviously I want this to continue indefinitely,” he said.
While he said he made his case for new funding, ultimately the decision is Raitt's.
Although Michigan-based Railmark Holdings, Inc. has signed an agreement with CN Rail to operate the service as a third-party operator, many balls are still in the air.
Not the least of which is that request for $7-million in federal funding to transition the service from CN to Railmark.
Even if that funding came through, Railmark needs to be certified by Transport Canada to operate trains on the CN line.
So what happens tomorrow?
“At a minimum there will be phone customer service. Whether the station will be unlocked, I don’t know if that will be the case,” said B. Allen Brown, president and CEO of Railmark, when reached by phone Tuesday.
The train will not run in the short-term unless a contingency plan is put in place wherein CN continues to run the service.
Such an agreement does not seem to be in place.
“I don’t think there’s any cause for alarm. I don’t think the sky is falling. There has been a lot of parties that have had to get in line and be a part of the process,” said Brown.
He said this is one of the hardest deals he has ever tried to close.
Brown said bookings will still be taken for the Agawa Canyon Tour train, as its season doesn't start until June. Brown is hopeful everything will be in place by then.
The ACR passenger train is another matter, Railmark won't be able to take bookings until it has a more solid timeline for the funding, which Brown believes will come through.
"I just can't believe they (Transport Canada) wouldn't get behind this," he said.
A call for comment from CN Rail was not immediately returned.
(FILE PHOTO: A passenger car is seen empty between Searchmont and Hawk Junction during ACR 100th anniversary trip from Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst, Ont. May 31, 2014. Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday.com)