VANCOUVER — Canadian National Railway Co. is providing financial help and materials so that Kelowna Pacific Railway can upgrade the short line route in British Columbia it took over from CN two years ago, the Canadian Press reports.
CN said Tuesday it is providing new rail ties to help Kelowna Pacific carry heavier loads on its system. Canada’s largest railway is also extending financing to the short-line operator so it can build a new reloading centre at Winfield, B.C. CN, which will benefit from improvements to the feeder line, did not reveal how much the measures will cost.
Kelowna Pacific operates more than 160 kilometres of track in the interior of British Columbia. Its line runs from Lumby and Kelowna through Vernon to an interchange with CN lines at Kamloops, B.C.
The short-line rail operator took over the line from CN in February 2000 and has increased traffic almost 20 per cent, shipping everything from forest products and grain to industrial goods.
David Edison, vice-president of CN’s Pacific division, said the rail company’s aid package will help Kelowna Pacific increase its revenues and win new business.
“KPR — like many of our short-line partners — has done a good job of building new rail business,” Edison said. “CN’s aid package will improve KPR’s ability to capture additional traffic. This is also good news for CN, because our short-line partners are significant originators of CN traffic and key to our growth strategy.”
Kelowna Pacific is a joint venture of KnightHawk Rail, a wholly owned subsidiary of KnightHawk Inc., and the U.S.-based New York & Lake Erie Railroad.