OTTAWA — According to the National Post, Canadian Pacific Railway Co. is eyeing the rail passenger market, a business it abandoned more than 20 years ago.
Rob Ritchie, president and chief executive of the railway, said getting into the passenger business could help CPR increase its track utilization while solving some transportation problems for governments.
Talks have been underway with various governments for more than a year on possible public-private partnerships, he said. “It’s still too early to know what success we will have,” he said in a speech to the Conference Board in Calgary.
“There are a number of passenger-based possibilities under development. These address both urban congestion and inter-city travel needs. We hope some of these will crystallize.”
For example, he suggested passenger cars attached to freight trains could link Edmonton, Red Deer, Calgary, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.
Before abandoning passenger service to Via in 1979, CP had a history of carrying people that dates back to its founding, when it carried immigrants to settle the West and eventually tourists to the mountains.
Mr. Ritchie said CPR got out of the passenger traffic business because it was unprofitable, but that could change if governments introduce new transportation policies.
“A lot of people think that the railways are anti-passenger … We’re anti-losing money,” he said.
CP is still involved in passenger service in a limited way. For example it operates a small, high-end tourist operation using restored vintage railcars in the mountains outside Calgary.
It also runs several commuter services across the country under contract with municipal and provincial governments, providing such things as track, train crews, signals and dispatchers.
With its spin-off last year from parent Canadian Pacific Ltd., the railway may be freer to pursue opportunities related to its core business, said Harry Gow, president of Transport 2000, a transport consumer advisory group.
“I think this has roots in the culture of the railway as it has reinvented itself,” he said.
While no one is talking about privatizing Via Rail, the national passenger rail system, there are opportunities for CPR as governments seek to save money and look for alternate transport models, he said.
It’s a trend that could even bring opportunities for CPR in the U.S. with the break-up of Amtrak, the government-owned American passenger rail system, he said.
Anthony Polci, a spokesman for David Collenette, the federal Transport Minister, said Ottawa has had ongoing discussions with both CPR and Canadian National Railway and welcomes their input, although nothing definitive has been decided.