Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Beachburg Subdivision update

I found this recent article in the Pembroke Daily Observer and another in the Ottawa Citizen as I was doing some research this morning and was mildly surprised to learn that Canadian National is disregarding a municipal bylaw in the Pontiac Region in Quebec and attempting to pull up another portion of what is left of the Beachburg subdivision. After some anxious moments, local officials managed to blockade the railway's workers from doing any further work on the line.

I wish I could pass along more positive information, but it seems as though the rest of the line is pretty much doomed. Curiously, this issue is not registering as much of a blip on the radar screen in Ottawa. I've said it before and I will continue to harp on this point, but I can't understand how a city can be so oblivious to such an economic commodity as a rail line, especially considering Ottawa is so keen to establish a light rail network throughout the city from scratch. This line would have been a great link for regional commuters in Pembroke and towns in Renfrew County, where people commute into Ottawa. This line could act much like GO Transit's network into Hamilton, Milton, Kitchener and other cities on Toronto's periphery.

You can read more about the Beachburg rail line in my previous post.

I guess I have to keep my eyes peeled for a reappearance of the dreaded CN continuous welded rail train.

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