MONTREAL — Canadian National reopened its main line through Jasper, Alberta, this morning and began moving a backlog of traffic that had built up this week while wildfires threatened and ultimately engulfed part of the resort town.
“After inspecting its infrastructure on Thursday afternoon, CN collaborated with the Unified Incident Command center to revise and implement its operational plan allowing goods to safely resume movements Friday morning through Jasper,” CN spokeswoman Ashley Michnowski says. “CN remains in regular contact with unified command and all parties involved and monitoring weather and fire movements.”
Jasper is a CN division point on its transcontinental main line, which is a vital link to and from the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
“We stand in support and solidarity with our employees and their families who live, play and work in this community. We are going to be right there with them to rebuild the town,” Michnowski says.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said between a third and half of the structures in Jasper were destroyed by the fast-moving fire on Wednesday night, mostly on the west side of town. Parks Canada said vital infrastructure in town, including its schools, hospital, emergency services building, and wastewater treatment plant, were not damaged.
CN officially shut down operations through Jasper on Monday, then was able resume operations briefly on Wednesday afternoon before being forced to suspend service again as the fire approached. The route, which handles more than 40 trains per day, remained closed on Thursday.
VIA Rail says service on the Canadian between Edmonton, Alberta, and Vancouver will remain suspended until Aug. 2. VIA’s Jasper-Prince Rupert service, which is currently running only between Prince George and Prince Rupert, is suspended between Jasper and Prince George through July 31.
Two of tourist operator Rocky Mountaineer’s three Canadian itineraries that originate or terminate in Jasper have been canceled indefinitely. Because Rocky Mountaineer excursions rely on hotels and restaurants to house passengers before and after their daytime trips, there is no way any of the trains can operate into or out of Jasper if those facilities aren’t available.
