CN Begins Dismantling Rail Line

[Jack]

A rail line the Municipality of Greenstone has been trying to save will be dismantled, CN officials confirmed. CN is now preparing to remove portions of the Kinghorn Rail Line, which stretches from Thunder Bay to Longlac. CN has already started removing railway crossings in Dorion, and equipment is on site to begin removing the steel tracks. CN plans to work westward from Dorion toward Thunder Bay as long as the weather allows. Greenstone Deputy Mayor Eric Rutherford said the municipality will continue to pursue ways to save the line between Longlac and Nipigon, but they must prove there is a viable product or service to make it feasible. Tens of thousands of dollars have been spent on feasibility studies for the Kinghorn. Rutherford said the removal of the line will have a serious impact on the communities it runs through. CN stopped using the Kinghorn line in 2005. The company anticipates it will take two years to remove the line completely.

(Thunder Bay Source 081024)