(The following Reuters article was posted on May 16.)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — British Columbia confirmed on Thursday that it wants a private company to operate provincially owned BC Rail, Canada’s third-largest railway.
The B.C. Liberal Party government, which has been weighing the fate of the debt-laden railroad for over a year, said it will seek a private company to lease the 1,504-mile (2,315-km) right of way from the province.
The long-expected announcement could spur a bidding war. BC Rail is one of the last mid-sized railways in North America not to have been taken over by a larger line.
“We intend to be a player,” said Mark Hallman, a spokesman for Canadian National Railway, which is also negotiating the purchase of the Ontario Northland railway from the Ontario provincial government.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and shortline firm Omnitrax have also expressed interest publicly, and officials of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. met last year with representatives of towns served by BC Rail.
Transportation Minister Judith Reid said the change would revitalize the railway, which was greatly expanded by the province in the 1950s and into the 1970s to develop natural resources in central and northern British Columbia.
BC Rail’s unions and the opposition New Democratic Party have accused the government of overstating the railway’s financial problems, noting that it made a profit last year.