Local government a step closer to acquiring defunct CN Rail corridor | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Vernon News

Local government a step closer to acquiring defunct CN Rail corridor

CN has already begun ripping out rail ties in areas of Kelowna, such as this location on Hardy Street, south of Dilworth Mountain Park.

KELOWNA - Local governments are moving to acquire the discontinued rail line between Kelowna and Lumby from CN Rail before the Oct. 6 deadline.

The municipalities of Kelowna, Lake Country, Coldstream and Vernon along with the regional districts of Central Okanagan and North Okanagan jointly identified the value the rail line could have as a continuous mult-modal transportation corridor connecting the communities. They're moving forward with the acquisition through the Canadian Transportation Agency discontinuance process.

“Significant progress has been made in negotiations over the past several months, however there are still a few outstanding issues,” Doug Gilchrist with the City of Kelowna said in a media release. “We have applied to the CTA for a non-binding Net Salvage Value determination to assist in informing the agreements and to extend our negotiation timeline.”

The Agency will determine a market value estimate of the corridor to help with negotiations, but the determination will not be binding on the purchaser because they'll be using a non-binding Net Salvage Value process. Once interested parties apply, it can take several months to complete the process.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preserve a continuous, regionally-significant corridor with the potential to provide long-term public benefits for the enhancement of the social, environmental and economic benefit of our residents,” Gilchrist said.

Meanwhile, funding options are being considered to help offset the cost to the taxpayer. These include partnerships, grants, municipal reserves and borrowing. 

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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