MONTREAL — The chief executive of Canadian Pacific Railway Co. repeated his call yesterday for government help to expand the rail corridor between Montreal and Toronto, the Canadian Press reported.
CP Rail CEO Robert Ritchie admitted that he may be dreaming, but he is trying to get Ottawa to broaden its thinking in light of the Kyoto accord and government efforts to revamp transportation policy.
It would cost about $2 billion to add another rail line to the existing CPR track corridor, of which the Calgary-based company would be willing to contribute $100 million, Ritchie said. The alternative, he said, would be to add another lane to the crowded Highway 401 expressway between Toronto and Montreal, at an estimated cost of $10 billion.
Ritchie also told reporters, after a luncheon speech, that CP Rail is forecasting 3 per cent to 4 per cent sales growth in 2003 and he expects strong fourth-quarter sales.
Ritchie declined to answer questions about earnings for 2003. The firm had 3 per cent to 5 per cent earnings growth forecast for fiscal 2002.
CP Rail stock closed at $32.71, down 44 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The stock’s 52-week range is $26.93 to $37.98.
The Ontario government as well as trucking companies have expressed concern about Ritchie’s plan to expand the railway corridor between Canada’s two most populous cities. But “everybody could come out a winner on this one,” Ritchie said after a speech to the Canadian Railway Club.
“The advantage is we could do (the rail expansion) in four to five years. You wouldn’t even get the environmental work done, if at all, on expanding the (Highway) 401 in four to five years.”
Via Rail spokesperson Paul Raynor said Ritchie’s idea is part of a proposal that Via recently made to the federal government.
“The real potential in a relatively short term is a big improvement in both freight capacity and passenger speeds,” said Raynor.
Canadian Pacific is seeking $300 million in federal and Ontario government involvement in a proposed new rail tunnel under the Detroit River between Windsor and Detroit.
The existing rail tunnel would be converted to road traffic in what is called the world’s busiest border crossing.
“As things stand now, 10 per cent of Canada’s GDP (gross domestic product) moves down a municipal street in Windsor with 16 traffic lights,” Ritchie commented.
Ritchie said his company is moving the maintenance work on new locomotives to Montreal from Coquitlam, B.C., which will create 30 jobs.