Fear of going off the rails: Businesses depend on city spur lines

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This article was published 08/04/2015 (4013 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SOME local businesses along spur lines say rail relocation could force them to move their operations.

The idea of moving rail lines has been heavily discussed lately, after Winnipeg businessman Art DeFehr distributed a five-page paper saying relocating rail lines outside the Perimeter Highway would be costly but beneficial.

Local spur-line users disagree. A spur line is a short branch line that connects to the main tracks.

“It’s not practical… we use the rails every day, seven days a week,” said Dennis Smerchanski, general manager of Border Chemical Company Ltd., which employs more than 100 people.

Border Chemical is located on Gunn Road in the R.M. of Springfield.

“If we didn’t have a rail location near us, we would have to move. It would be a horrendous cost, and we would probably end up shutting down.”

About 50 per cent of Border Chemical’s product is shipped by rail, using both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific rail lines.

“It would be detrimental to us; we use the spur every day,” said Bruce Silverman, the logistics manager for Industrial Metals on Messier Street in St. Boniface.

The scrap-metal recycling company averages 30 train cars per month.

“We depend on rail… it’s an integral part of our business,” Silverman said.

While the exact number of companies that use direct rail access could not be pinpointed, DeFehr said the number is low.

“Call any person and ask them to give you a list of companies that bring rail cars to their door… I asked and one person had one name and the rest had zero — there can’t be that many or they can’t be that important,” DeFehr said.

“There might be an odd spur line that comes in through the CN yard and that can always stay there if it makes sense, but the big issue is to remove the big track.”

City spokespersons were not available to comment Monday.

In a previous interview, Mayor Brian Bowman said relocating the rail yards and lines isn’t a priority in the short term, and he would need to do more research to determine whether it might be one in the long run.

Canadian National Railway did not return repeated requests for comment.

jenna.dulewich@freepress.mb.ca

Winnipeg Rail Lines and Spur Lines

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