Several tank cars derailed in Winnipeg on April 21, around 8 AM. The cars were on the overpass over busy McPhillips Street, and police closed the street until the cars were removed. These tank cars were carrying undiluted bitumen from the Alberta tar sands, which is not considered a dangerous good. Nothing was spilled and the cars remained (mostly) upright.
The derailment has put life back into the rail relocation zombie, the shambling agglomeration of ideas to move the rail yards and lines out of downtown Winnipeg that just won’t die. It’s an idea that comes up again and again.
As a city mostly created by railways, we have a lot of lines running through the city.
Most of the discussion is around moving Canadian Pacific’s yard, where the derailment took place. It runs some 5 km (3 miles) between Keewatin Street and Main Street, just north of the downtown core. This yard has been there for well over a hundred years and, although it’s a lot quieter than it used to be, it is still heavily used by CPKC.
It occupies a lot of prime land (albeit probably polluted) and it is a physical barrier to north-south traffic. The Arlington Bridge is a perennial issue and the Slaw Rebchuk bridge is really the only other alternative to cross the yard.
You can imagine how expensive it would be to relocate this yard. There have been some studies done – supposedly a study done in 1980 said it would cost $100 million at that time – but the idea keeps coming back around. I was massively skeptical back in 2012 and I continue to be skeptical.
I’m skeptical for two reasons:
- The cost will run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and likely more than a billion dollars.
- If you move CP, you need to move CN’s main line too. That also means moving the VIA station.
Our premier, Heather Stefanson, has expressed some support to the idea of moving rail lines, someday. Her predecessor cancelled a planned study in 2016.
I’m always surprised that few people mention moving CN’s Rivers and Redditt subdivisions through downtown Winnipeg. This line is busier than CP’s and handles the same kind of goods, including hazardous materials. A train derailed right in the downtown in January 2015, for goodness’ sake.
The VIA station is just off to the left of the picture.
I invite you to read Bartley Kives’ piece on rail relocation – he is quite a writer.
Just One More Thing
I read this CBC article on Pat Kane, a Northwest Territory photographer, and his new book Here is Where We Shall Stay. It looks amazing.
Yeah nice ideas but as you say $$$$. I am sure the taxpayers don’t want to be paying for it! Especially if they have to relocate all of the railway lines out of Winnipeg.
Though in Lethbridge they relocated the yard out of the downtown in the early 1980s, but at the time all three levels of government were involved in the deal. But the tracks still go through Lethbridge, and there is still grumbling when the trains block traffic on the Highway or on 43rd street. But there is no incentive to build an overpass/underpass to allow the traffic to keep moving, so we have to tough it out for the meantime!
I think Lethbridge is better for having the CP yard relocated, but as you say all 3 levels of government were on board. I don’t think that’s the case (so far) in Winnipeg and the job is much bigger here.
Yeah, I agree Steve, it would be a much bigger job in Winnipeg…
Ironically even with the yard relocated from Lethbridge, people have already forgotten about there being tracks downtown. It’s wild it was already 40 years ago! If it wasn’t for the old train station and the preserved CPR steamer in the mall parking lot there isn’t much else to mark the presence of the railway (except for the Viaduct and the realigned track).