FORT-VI August Newsletter

August 2017 Newsletter

Thanks for signing up for our newsletter. We've got lots of news to share as FORT-VI's concept of converting the E&N rail corridor into a non-motorized, multi-use recreation trail gains support.

“Way to Go” Comox Valley!!

Our Comox Valley chapter has gathered close to 1000 petition signatures! Volunteers from the valley reported back about their outreach at farmers markets, festivals, coffee shops,etc, and found they had a lot of people stop and ask questions before signing the petition. One of the volunteers plasticized a map of Vancouver Island and outlined the trail which drew a lot of people to the table. The process has educated a lot of people about the possibilities. We plan on having some of the volunteers meet with their MLA- whether Scott Fraser or Ronna Rae L- to ask them to present the petitions in the Legislature. (It should be also noted that we have collected almost 900 online petition signatures)

Meeting with the ICF Board

FORT-VI recently met with the ICF board to request permission to develop a plan to remove the rails and replace it with a non-motorized, multi-use trail between Parksville and Courtenay as recommended by the RDN board. We were flatly turned down and they were adamant that the board has no intention of giving up on re-establishing rail on any portion of Corridor.

We were quite taken aback and disappointed by their response especially after Graham Bruce's News article: ICF director says conversion from rails to trails 'in consideration' which indicated the ICF may consider Rails to Trails on a portion of the Corridor. It seems disingenuous for Bruce to say publicly they support trails and then have ICF summarily dismiss FORT-VI despite the thousands of signatures in support of trails on the right of way we now have.

E&N Railway Roundtable

A new group was established this month called the E&N Railway Roundtable. This new group is advocating for revival of the E&N railway. The group is opposed to FORT-VI’s concept of converting the rail bed into a trail and instead supports creating “rails with trails” along the line.

FORT-VI would be pleased to meet with the E&N Railway Roundtable group and their spokesperson, Jack Peake, to see if there is any common ground between their “rails with trails” and our “rails to trails” philosophies, although FORT-VI has examined the concept of “rails with trails” in detail and it does not appear to be a feasible option. Our present position is that we recommend that any level of government that has either funded ICF in the past or is asked to in the future do a cost benefit analysis of both the "rails with trails" and the "rails to trails" option before any future public dollars are invested.

Where do we go from Here (Plan of Action)

Attend meetings with each of the groups that constitute the ICF. Some meetings have been held already but not all the meetings we have tried to schedule have occurred. It is important to clearly articulate our position to these groups individually,clearly stating that our organization has no interest in taking over the administration of the corridor. Our position is that we would like to support the ICF with a revised goal of gradual conversion of the rail corridor into a trail beginning with the Parksville to Courtenay section.
Meet with Island MLAs who we have not yet met with to explain who we are and our vision.
Meet with the relevant MPs for the Island.
We should note that we have had two positive meetings with First Nations, K'omox and Snaw Naw As, and hope to have more in the coming months with other First Nation groups.
Send written packages to offices of all the Island MLAs and MPs.
Send written package to Ministers from BC in The Federal Cabinet.
Send written packages to the relevant Federal and Provincial Ministers who are responsible to consider any financial aid to ICF.
Send written packages to the Provincial Party Leaders.
At some point before the year is up, set up meetings with the Provincial Minister of Transportation and the two Federal Ministers from BC.
Identify and connect with other island organizations that would be natural allies with our goals and attempt to gain their support.

Is the Federal Government obligated to maintain rail service as part of the constitution (or the old Dunsmuir Agreement)? The answer is No!

In 1994, The Supreme Court of Canada ruled there is no constitutional obligation on the Federal Government to maintain the railway.

"Canada does not owe a constitutional obligation to British Columbia in respect of the operation of the Victoria to Nanaimo Vancouver Island rail line."

This was the appeal between:

British Columbia (Attorney General) v. Canada (Attorney General); An Act respecting the Vancouver Island Railway (Re), [1994] 2 S.C.R. 41
Whether Canada owes British Columbia constitutional obligation to ensure operation of train service between Victoria and Nanaimo

AND

Whether Canada has authority under Railway Act or National Transportation Act, 1987 to discontinue passenger train service between Victoria and Nanaimo

Click here to view the decision.

Facts You Should Know?

General

CP sold the corridor for one dollar in 2006 receiving credit for a charitable donation of $236 million which netted them a $38 million tax saving.
The ICF manages the rail line, land and assets worth about $337 million in the public interest.
The ICF is directed by 12 board members (5 Regional Districts, 5 First Nations & 2 Directors at large.) representing the Districts and First Nation lands of the Corridor.
VIA Rail subsidy was 1.4 million annually when the passenger service was running.
Passenger Service between Courtenay and Victoria stopped in 2011. It took 90 min longer than driving the total route due to speed restrictions (Uncontrolled crossings, track conditions, etc).
Grant funding requested from the Fed. and Prov. Governments of $15 million has now expired and needs to be reapplied for. No specific business plan was ever made available to
support this original request and was largely held back due to a First Nations law suit.
In 2012 RDN withdrew $945,000 for track repairs due to a lack of confidence in the ICF.

Financial

The ICF has $892,811 owing to the CIBC and $175,000 to Southern Railway of Vancouver Island. Both are callable (lender can ask for their money back at any time) and both are secured by all the Foundation’s assets. Ref. notes 9 and 10 of Grant Thornton prepared 2016 Financial Statements. Direct quotes from 2016 Financial Statements “As of Dec.31, 2016, the Foundation's current liabilities exceed its current assets by $849,314. These conditions indicate the existence of a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt about the Foundation’s ability to continue as a going concern.” (Layman’s language: means it has to sell off assets or take on more debt to meet its current obligations.)

Re-establishing Rail Service with Trails

In 2009 an IBI Consulting report estimated that $118 million was required to bring the tracks to safe conditions from Duncan to Victoria for passenger service (including freight if not loaded too heavily) . Ref. Evaluation of E&N Railway Corridor: October 2009. The cost to bring the Duncan to Courtenay section to safe operation was quoted in 2009 $ at $103 million. This does not include $120 million to upgrade bridges and grade separations. At that time, it was estimated that a $4.9 million annual subsidy (VIA subsidy and Commuter rail subsidy) would be required to operate the Duncan to Victoria section and a $1.5 million subsidy was needed to operate Duncan to Courtenay. Report also shows there are 240 level crossings between Victoria and Courtenay.
HB Lanarc Consultants and Newcastle Engineering report done in 2009 for only the Nanaimo Regional District portion of the corridor shows there are 41 sections where it is deemed impractical to have a shared railway and trail. This report only covers 118 km (41%) but is likely representative of the total 288 km E&N corridor.

Establishing a Trail on the Decommissioned Rail-bed (Rails to Trails)

It is estimated that the cost to pull up the track will be offset by sale of the rails. Additional costs for a trail would be surface material, decking and railings at bridges and trestles, bollards at road crossings, fencing, signage, and picnic facilities. Estimates depend on type of surface chosen, extent of amenities and level of volunteerism in each community.
Ongoing costs of maintaining the trail would include vegetation control, periodic remediation of surface, graffiti and garbage removal. Leases and other non rail income would be used to help offset these expenses.

In the news

A multi-use trail is the only financially viable option for the E&N Rail bed – Letter to the Editor, Comox Valley Record, August 15, 2017

Revived train service would boost economy – Lake Cowichan Gazette, August 13, 2017

New group forms to advocate for railway revival – Goldstream News Gazette, August 9, 2017

Former MP says unused E&N line should trade rails for trails – CTV Vancouver Island, July 28, 2017

Population doesn't warrant North Island train service - Comox Valley Record, July 28, 2017

Switch the rails to trails on Vancouver Island, group urges – CBC, July 27, 2017

Friends of Rails advocate multi-use trail – Comox Record, July 24, 2017

ICF director says conversion from rails to trails ‘in consideration’ – Nanaimo News Now, June 20, 2017

Nanaimo council supports rails to trails movement – Nanaimo News Now, June 15, 2017

Please visit the FORT-VI website regularly as we are adding information and ideas to it every week.

Thank you to Andrew Appleton of Victoria for providing a photo from the Charters Creek Trestle on the Galloping Goose Trail. The Galloping Goose Trail was developed in 1989 on an unused rail bed between Victoria and Leechtown. This photo of a successful conversion shows FORT-VI's vision for the E&N Rail bed.