Train troubles derail shipments

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This article was published 05/06/2017 (3059 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Churchill residents are getting low on spirits — and in more ways than one.

Via Rail service from Thompson to Churchill was suspended on May 31 due to flooding, so the northern town was already down to its last few cases of beer Sunday. The only vendor in town has already run out of stock.

But running out of beer could be the least of Churchill’s problems.

In the short term, residents and businesses are dealing with shortages of essential goods — food and larger products such as lumber or petroleum products — that are considered too expensive to fly in.

In the long term, community leaders are concerned that if rail service, as they fear, remains suspended into what is expected to be a booming Canadian 150th anniversary tourism season, it could cost the town hundreds of thousands in lost revenue and jobs.

Churchill Mayor Mike Spence owns the Seaport Hotel, which cut off vendor sales when the beer supply ran out last week. That’s happened before, Spence said.

What worries the mayor even more is whether residents can afford food that will have to be flown in at costs four times as high, or if the beluga whale-watching season (July, August, September) will be hurt if Via Rail trains can’t get the tourists into town.

Spence said town officials have been talking with the provincial government about acquiring government assistance for air transport.

“It’s pretty difficult and challenging,” Spence said. “There’s a lot of issues here that we need to overcome. You’re going to need a subsidy to get food and essential (goods) into the community. To fly them in, there’s a huge cost to that.”

Calm Air has agreed to add two flights a week from Thompson to Churchill. Town officials are negotiating with Gardewine on trucking freight costs from Winnipeg to Thompson.

Via Rail and Omnitrax, which owns the rail line, could not be reached Sunday.

Spence said Omnitrax is trying to determine the flood damage, which was caused by a combination of heavy spring runoff and high river levels. Several bridges may need to be repaired.

“The images that I’ve seen, it could be a month and beyond,” he said. “They (Omnitrax) don’t have a guesstimate. How long will it take to fix? We don’t know.”

Spence said the town was gearing up for a year of increased tourism due to promotions around Canada’s 150th anniversary, such as Via Rail specials for young travellers.

“We don’t want them cancelling,” he said. “We want to accommodate them. So that means sharpening our pencils and (coming up with solutions) or we don’t get anything at all.”

The town has reached out to Via Rail and Travel Manitoba to help provide tourists with options. But currently the added flights from Thompson to Churchill cost around $600 return.

Belinda Fitzpatrick, owner of the Tundra Inn restaurant and bar, said she was ready to open June 14, but that date has been delayed.

Instead, she’s spent the last few days trying to make alternative arrangements for her guest bookings. Those who had booked hostel rooms have already cancelled.

“It’s not the first time it (a suspension of rail service) has happened,” Fitzpatrick said. “(But) People are concerned about employment and having work. Already I’m looking at my staffing numbers and the hours that I’m open and whether I need all the staff I initially hired. If we cut our hours in half, there will be people without jobs.”

“For the last week, I’ve really been working on Plan B’s and C’s and D’s in options of opening trying to communicate with guests and let them know of the disruption and how they can get here.”

Fitzpatrick said the beluga sightseeing season doesn’t begin in earnest until mid-July, so it’s too early to determine the effect on tourism, especially if train service could be renewed within four weeks.

Her concerns are more immediate.

“I own a hotel and restaurant, but there’s stuff in this community that isn’t available anymore,” Fitzpatrick said. “You go to Home Hardware and they’re out of hot water tanks. There’s lumber and lots of stuff that isn’t here that people in the community need.

“I think the severity of it is starting to just sink in with everyone, and we need to get into action and figure out the best way to move ahead and keep the (tourist) season moving.”

randy.turner@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @randyturner15