By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor
For the past four years, short lines in Saskatchewan have faced infrastructure improvement costs without any funding assistance from the Canadian province. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways suspended a Short Line Railway Sustainability Program (SRSP) in 2017.
But now, a new — and potentially better — provincial funding program is in place that will provide hundreds of thousands of dollars for a variety of short-line projects.
Several months ago, the province created the Short Line Railway Improvement Program (SRIP) to provide short lines grants for track upgrades, expansions and rehabilitations, grade crossing improvements, bridge maintenance and other work. Saskatchewan officials have allocated CA$530,000 for the SRIP in the 2021-22 fiscal-year budget.
There are 13 provincially regulated short lines in Saskatchewan that operate more than 2,000 miles of track, primarily to transport grain. SRIP funding will be allocated based on the mileage of track each short line owns, with small railroads to receive at least CA$20,000 and larger ones to receive up to CA$140,000.
Formed in 2009 and headquartered in Leader, Saskatchewan, the Great Sandhills Railway manages 123 miles of track in a former CP subdivision. Great Sandhills Railway “The short-line rail business is a key sector of our shipping industry and plays a vital role in our economy,” said Saskatchewan Highways Minister Fred Bradshaw in a statement released in June. “Helping to improve and expand their infrastructure will ensure our grain keeps getting to market and our agriculture producers can stay competitive.”
The former SRSP was launched in 2008 and funded by the Saskatchewan Grain Car Corp. The funding program was dropped nine years later when the province’s hopper-car fleet was sold and Saskatchewan Grain Car was wound down, said Steve Shaheen, a senior communications consultant with the provincial government, in an email.
A 50/50 cost-shared program, the SRSP provided grants to eligible short lines primarily for track maintenance. The list of eligible projects under the SRIP has been expanded to include track construction projects, and the program will provide grants for up to 50% of eligible track material and construction costs, said Shaheen.
An OmniTRAX Inc. subsidiary, Carlton Trail Railway Co. manages 103 miles of former CN-owned track between Saskatoon and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. OmniTRAX Inc.“One of the priorities in the government of Saskatchewan’s growth plan includes assisting short lines to expand their footprint, such as advancing existing rail infrastructure and regulatory frameworks to improve service levels and create opportunities for investors to gain better access to rail service,” he said. “The newer program provides grants to short lines to help with expansion projects in addition to track upgrades and maintenance.”
The province has received SRIP applications from all the short lines in Saskatchewan. The highway ministry has processed or paid out about half of the allotted money for the program and expects the remainder to be paid out by the end of the fiscal year, said Shaheen.
All the money budgeted in the SRIP is expected to be allocated by March 31, 2022.
