Ontario’s Huron Central will continue operating until at least June 30, marking at least the third time owner Genesee & Wyoming has reversed plans to close the 173-mile line between Sault St. Marie and Sudbury.
CTV News reports the company, which had planned to cease operations on Dec. 18, extended the deadline because of progress in talks with the federal and provincial governments. When it announced plans to close on Aug. 31, the company said it needed about $40 million in government support to meet maintenance requirements. On Friday, Rick McClellan, president of Genesee & Wyoming Canada, said that over the last two weeks, “negotiations have intensified as our government partners explore an agreement with [G&W Canada] and consider our revised proposal to co-invest in the rehabilitation of the railway.” Both the federal and provincial government have indicated an interest in a long-term solution, he said.
The railroad has 43 employees, who had previously been notified of impending layoffs [see “Digest: Huron Central, preparing for shutdown, notifies employees of layoffs,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 4, 2020] The railroad moves approximately 12,000 carloads a year, mostly for the steel and timber industries, on a line leased from Canadian Pacific.
Previous closure plans have been reversed in 2009 [see “Ontario’s Huron Central gets reprieve,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 3, 2009], 2010 [see “Government funds likely secured for Huron Central,” News Wire, April 12, 2010], and 2018 [see “G&W to close Huron Central by the end of the year,” News Wire, May 24, 2018].
