CN to discontinue seven Saskatchewan branch lines

CN to discontinue seven Saskatchewan branch lines    Canadian National Railway Co. yesterday announced plans to discontinue seven Saskatchewan branch lines, which the railway says haven’t been used for at least three years.
   The seven lines, totaling 329 miles in length, are:
   *Lewvan Subdivision between Minard Junction and Rowatt.
   *Northgate Spur between Lampman and Northgate.
   *Turtleford Subdivision between Hamlin and St. Walburg.
   *Bolney Spur between Spruce Lake Junction and Paradise Hill.
   *Robinhood Subdivision between RH Junction and Glaslyn.
   *Amiens Spur between England and Spiritwood.
   *Lillian Spur between Lillian and Preeceville.
   As required under Canadian law, CN has to list the lines for discontinuance for 12 months before offering them to third parties for operation. Then, if there are no commercial purchasers or governments prepared to acquire them, the lines can be discontinued. CN said that the entire process can take almost two years.
   “These discontinuances reflect changes made by other industry stakeholders,” said Peter Marshall, senior vice-president, Western Canada region. “Over the past four years, farmers, grain companies and other grain industry interests have made major changes in the ways they market and move grain. These changes have made certain sections of CN’s Saskatchewan network redundant — the lines are no longer being used.”
   In 2001, CN placed a moratorium on prairie grain branch line discontinuances, in the hope of giving farmers a period of time to adjust to changes in the grain handling and transportation system.
   “We had some successes, notably with the West Central Road and Rail group,” said Marshall. “We had other initiatives, such as the Prairie Alliance for the Future, which did not generate local rail traffic despite intensive efforts by all concerned parties.
   'We believe that farmers’ local shipping patterns in the areas served by these branch lines are now well established, and it’s time for CN to make the necessary changes to its network,” he added.
   The Canadian Transportation Act requires railways to pay affected municipalities C$30,000 ($25,357) per mile over three years when grain-dependent branch lines listed in schedule 1 of the legislation are discontinued.
   CN said that under it’s current discontinuance plan, the affected municipalities would receive C$10 million ($8.45 million) from the railway over the three-year period.