By Darren Stewart, Times Colonist Staff
Victoria Times Colonist July 9, 2002

The E&N Railway may still chug its way to being a viable service. The train's operator, RailAmerica, has agreed to extend train service until the end of September, just one week before the train was to reach the end of its line.

The extension gives the Vancouver Island Rail Development Initiative -- a group of investors and stakeholders who want to take over the service -- a 12 week grace period to form a local company and work out a plan that would allow the railway to make money.

The deal, reached last Friday, comes after the railway operator has given three separate month-long deadlines to the local group, the latest of which was due to expire on July 15.

"Now we have a longer period of time to formulate this plan, which speaks to a longer term solution," said Tanner Elton, who manages the initiative. "But we're still a long way from being out of the woods."

Elton said the 12-week period will allow for a more sustainable plan to be struck, particularly with freight customers looking for longer-term stability in the railway.

"This will allow us to move away from our monthly death sentences," he said.
Elton said the railway initiative is already on its way to having a sustainable plan that includes an increase in both passenger and freight services. Details of the plan will be released later this month.

'This could be treated as an indefinite extension," he said.

"We're still an enormous way from where we want to be."

The rail development initiative also agreed to increase its investment in the railway over the grace period.

"But this time it really is an investment rather than support to simply keep the service running," said Elton.

The railway initiative will also receive help from Point Hope Shipyard, which has been doing repairs on the trains for the past two and a half years. Bill McKechnie, owner of the yard, agreed to work for less money.

'It's a contract the shipyard would like to keep," he said. "It would be an absolute shame to see this railway disappear. The communities and the companies involved have shown a real spirit and willingness to keep it running."

Mary Ashley, president of the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities, said municipalities up and down the Island want to see the railway maintained, but not without a guarantee that it will be viable.

"We don't know enough yet, but knowledge of long-term costs and potential for service is coming in." she said. "The numbers are looking good. Over each phase, I've become more optimistic."

She agreed that the longer time period would allow local operators to chart a more viable plan, but noted that the final say would come from users.

"If you want this railway, if you want to support this railway, then you have to use this railway," she said.

The 116-year-old line between Victoria and Courtenay attracts about 40,000 passengers a year using 1950s era diesel cars. RailAmerica, a company based in Boca Raton, Fla., bought the E&N railway in 1999 and has been struggling to keep it running since it lost a contract to carry freight between Nanaimo and Port Alberni. The line has been plagued by breakdowns and maintenance costs.

For Island's railway to survive, it needs freight. Let's hope propane shipments are the lifesaver.

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