Sask. announces annual $1M investment for short line rail infrastructure

More than a dozen short-line rail companies across Saskatchewan are sharing $1 million in provincial funding for infrastructure upgrades.

The Government of Saskatchewan has announced an annual investment of $1 million for short line rail infrastructure in the province.

“Short line rail helps connect Saskatchewan commodities on their journeys to markets around the world,” Highways Minister Kim Gartner said in an update from the province on Thursday.

“They provide a safe and efficient option to move bulk commodities and that helps protect Saskatchewan highways by reducing wear and tear from vehicles.”

The announcement was made outside near a locomotive at Cantuar northwest of Swift Current.

The funding will be used for track upgrades and expansion, improved crossing surfaces and sightlines, bridge maintenance, track rehabilitation, and other projects under the Short Line Railway Improvement Program (SRIP), according to the province.

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The SRIP is a 50-50 cost-sharing program between the provincial government ($1 million) and privately owned short lines ($1 million), funding short line rail infrastructure up to $2 million.

The government funding will go to several projects in the province:

• 9961526 Canada Ltd. (Leader west area) $24,000
• Thunder Rail (Arborfield area) $45,000
• Torch River Rail (Nipawin to Choiceland area) $45,000
• Northern Lights Rail (west of Melfort) $45,000
• Southern Rails Cooperative (south of Moose Jaw) $45,000
• Long Creek Railroad (west of Estevan) $45,000
• Wheatland Rail (Cudworth, Wakaw area) $45,000
• Red Coat Road & Rail (Ogema area) $46,052
• Stewart Southern Railway (southwest of Regina to Stoughton) $52,860
• Last Mountain Railway (Regina to Davidson) $54,462
• Carlton Trail Railway (Saskatoon to Prince Albert area) $69,279
• Great Sandhills Railway (Swift Current to Leader area) $78,088
• Big Sky Rail (Delisle, Eston, Elrose region) $162,584
• Great Western Railway (Assiniboia, Shaunavon, Coronach area) $242,675

“Over 150 communities in Saskatchewan are located along short line railways and we are proud of our role as stewards of rural infrastructure, quality employers and transportation providers that help bring the best of Saskatchewan grain, potash and energy products to the world and bring the goods we need back home,” said Rachel Mackenzie, Western Canadian Short Line Railway Association’s director of communications and government relations.

According to the province, 14 provincially-regulated short line railways operate on 2,123 kilometres of track in Saskatchewan.