(The Ottawa Valley Railway issued the following press release on April 27, 2009.)
NORTH BAY, Ontario — Reacting to a major decrease in business, the Ottawa Valley Railway (OVR), a RailAmerica property, has issued lay-off notices to approximately 30 affected employees.
The decline in business results from a decision by Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) to reroute its freight trains from the OVR route to its own system between Sudbury and Montreal. OVR had operated the trains from one end of OVR’s line to the other. The rerouted trains had accounted for about 85 percent of OVR’s overall traffic. The reroute could last for the balance of 2009.
Positions affected will be concentrated in OVR’s transportation department and include train dispatchers, locomotive engineers and conductors. OVR is acting in accordance with the provisions of the Canadian Labour Code and applicable collective bargaining agreements.
“This is an incredibly unfortunate outcome of the declining economy,” said OVR General Manager Scott Campbell. “We are very disappointed that we must reduce our workforce. However, we hope when the economy rebounds that we can return to normal employment levels.”
OVR is a short-line railroad that operates 340 miles of track between Coniston and Smith Falls, Ontario, with CP interchanges at Sudbury and Smith Falls. Shipments for paper company Tembec and other local businesses represent the remaining 15 percent of OVR’s business.
“The current economic climate is having dramatic effects on the forest products industry, which is heavily concentrated in Northern Ontario,” said Campbell. “While we never want to lose any employees, we understand the challenges our industry is currently facing.”
OVR was moving approximately 60,000 carloads per year, including intermodal, forest products and chemicals. In prior years, the railroad has moved as many as 115,000 carloads per year.