this should give CNCP something to think about!

[farmaholic]

Maybe the "value" of the line should be calculated in today's terms of "what it would cost to replace it!"???????????

[farming101]

Farmaholic, here is a little insight into why many of these branch lines were built in the first place, and the economic arguments for their existence.

I would suggest reading some cold evening with your beverage of choice.

<a title="A little bit of history" href="http://pcag.uwinnipeg.ca/Prairie-Perspectives/PP-Vol11/Bohi-Kozma.pdf">A little bit of history</a>

[farmaholic]

...still in consolidation mode? Will equilibrium be when there are only mainlines left?

Is there no "need" for whats left?

[farming101]

When it's someone else's money it seems hard to get the cost of infrastructure right.

[bucket]

Farming101

No nation on this planet that expects growth to fuel it's economic goals should tear out rail lines. Especially ones that were funded by the government.

Canada would have a better prospect if it had rail service to smaller centers.

And considering the environmental and highway infrastracture issues it makes more sense to have left them in place for future opportunities.

[farmaholic]

101.... What I did notice was that both RRs made a choice to "infringe" into each other's territory, like COMPETITION. Wow, what a novel concept! Now they are forcing the traffic that could be on rails onto the roads.

I won't argue that the infrastructure of decades, or a century, ago may have been overbuilt to a degree for today's environment but at what point do we say no more line abandonment? When a 25 year old concrete terminal gets isolated or "CUT OFF" from the rest of the network something is wrong!!!

The article's conclusion is that it opened the west for business. Tonnes and tonnes of freight and people moved on rail. So for the time it sounds like they concluded it wasn't a colossal waste. They served their purpose. Since the heyday, parts of the West have emptied out so obviously there isn't a need for all that "was". But at what point is enough enough. I will use the example of Stewart Southern Rail(shortline from Stoughton to Regina) moving a pile of oil out of the Stoughton area to Regina. I wonder if CP would like that line back? I wonder what the future holds for other areas that got abandoned? Who knows what resource is quietly waiting to be extracted and moved to market. Let alone the business of grain movement that still exists and is neglected.

I live very close to a CN line servicing one main grain terminal in the middle of a long rail line. I wonder if it too one day may suffer the same fate as so many other low traffic lines? I think it's saving grace is the fact it is a bit of an alternative the CN's main line, if there is a problem with it at least they have this as an emergency backup. It at least "goes somewhere"(Regina to Brandon and beyond), But so did the line(the portion from Davidson to Regina) that Mobil grain is operating between Regina and Saskatoon, now if that wasn't a "strategic" stretch of rail line is Saskatchewan, what was? A line between the two major cities of Sask, partially turned over to a shortline. Just goes to show how things have changed...

Has the cost of maintaining these low traffic lines outweighed their benefit? Even if it sits idle for long periods of time, road crossing planks and ties deteriorate, right of ways need maintaining(grass and trees cut--now there is a novel idea, CP mainline looks like it's in a forest in some places in the middle of the prairies. Hard to see if a train is coming at some road crossings!!!).

Maybe it's time to assess these lines on their intrinsic value over the value to the owners place on them for what they contribute to "their" bottom line.