HAY RIVER, Northwest Territories — The Government of the Northwest Territories has asked Canadian federal regulators to examine Canadian National Railway’s decision not to repair its damaged rail line to Hay River, which had been the northernmost point on the North American rail network.
Vince McKay, infrastructure minister for the Northwest Territories, said on Monday (April 7) that the territorial government has applied for adjudication with the Canadian Transportation Agency.
“This adjudication process is akin to a legal hearing, where the GNWT’s claim that CN Rail has failed to fulfill its obligations under the Canada Transportation Act will be thoroughly examined,” McKay said in a statement. “As a common carrier, CN Rail has a legal duty to maintain this rail line and ensure the continued flow of goods to the NWT’s most vulnerable communities. … It remains the position of the Government of the Northwest Territories that repairing this stretch of rail line is CN Rail’s responsibility.”
CN stopped operating the 25 miles between Enterprise, NWT, and Hay River after that segment of the railroad’s Meander River Subdivision was damaged by wildfires in 2023. CN filed last year to discontinue service between the two communities, saying the costs to repair the line “were not proportional to the volume commitments of customers in the region.” [See “Northernmost point … to lose service,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 11, 2024.]
Traffic that had traveled by rail to Hay River, where it was barged to other communities on the Great Slave Lake water system, is now transloaded at Enterprise and moved by truck [see “Cando Rail acquires terminal …,” News Wire, Nov. 21, 2024].
McKay’s lengthy statement said CN’s decisions meant communities “will be forced to rely on expensive and inefficient alternatives, such as trucking fuel across long distances. This is not just a minor inconvenience — this decision puts the well-being of our residents at risk and places unnecessary strain on our economy.”
The town of Hay River will work to support the GNWT, Cabin Radio reports, having already provided a statement that was part of the territorial government’s complaint. Glenn Smith, Hay River’s town manager, said the loss of rail service “puts a fair amount of financial, logistical and environmental stress on what is really an essential transportation network, especially providing fuel up the river system to communities.”
Smith said the town will also contact the Northwest Territories Association of Communites and the Community Rail Advocacy Alliance about the issue.
CN told Cabin Radio it would not comment because the issue is before the Canadian Transportation Agency.
Hay River, population 3,169 as of 2021, is closer to the Arctic Circle (approximately 400 miles) than it is to the nearest major city, Edmonton, Alberta (about 510 miles).
If the Canadian Government can pour 140M CDN into the line to Churchill, I am sure they can find a few million to fix 25 miles to Hay River.
However of note, the Canadian Government did upgrade several clicks of the highway from Enterprise going north to Fort Providence. All to support a logistics hub for the upper river residents and their economy. That is another reason CN is dropping the repair.
This was done in part to deal with low water at Hay River which was blocking goods to be barged up in its traditional fashion.
Barge connection seems important, feds should cough up some loonies to fix it.