CPR News November 1996
Ottawa Valley RaiLink is born
New railway preserves Sudbury-Smiths Falls line
PAUL THURSTON
G&PA, TORONTO
NORTH BAY, Ont. -- On Oct. 30, RaiLink began operations on Canada's newest regional railway, assuming control of the former Canadian Pacific Railway route from the Sudbury area to Smiths Falls under a long-term lease.
Formerly known as Central Western Railway Holdings, RaiLink will strive to enhance service levels through its close ties with the regional marketplace, officials of the CPR and the new company said. Living and working in the area, RaiLink personnel will operate CPR trains linking Quebec and Western Canada as well as promoting local service to shippers and receivers.
From Smiths Falls, the railway extends west through the Ontario communities of Arnprior, Pembroke, Petawawa, Mattawa, North Bay and Sturgeon Falls to a point just east of Coniston, about 16 kilometres (10 miles) east of Sudbury. RaiLink will operate the new railway under the name "Ottawa Valley RaiLink."
Including a branch line from Mattawa to Temiscaming, Que., Ottawa Valley RaiLink spans about 550 route kilometres (342 miles). It also has running rights extending east of Smiths Falls and west of Sudbury to help speed the exchange of trains between the two companies.
RaiLink Investments Limited was formed in 1983 to acquire and operate regional railways. In addition to Ottawa Valley RaiLink, its operating companies include wholly-owned Central Western Railway, which began operations in 1986, and the Quebec Railway Company (25-per cent-owned), which began operations in 1994. RaiLink is Canada's first independent, Canadian-owned and operated regional railway company.
Regional railways -- sometimes called short lines -- have been instrumental in bringing lower operating costs and greater flexibility to railway services in many areas of North America.
Headquartered in North Bay, Ottawa Valley RaiLink has 110 full-time employees located across its territory who operate trains as well as maintain equipment and track. Almost 80 per cent are former CPR employees who have accepted work with the new organization. About 65 other CPR employees whose jobs are affected will either become eligible for work elsewhere or will qualify for severance benefits and/or early retirement packages.
"We have assembled a tremendous team of railway professionals to operate this railway," said President and CEO Gordon Clanachan, who describes the addition of this new railway as "a significant step towards RaiLink's goal of becoming the leading regional railway operator in Canada."
CPR officials called the agreement an imaginative way to deal with the eastern Canadian freight transportation market, and said it is part of a larger effort to reduce CPR operating mileage by up to 25 per cent while developing a high-density core network focused on key freight corridors across Canada and into the U.S.
Section added April 11, 1998
