RM of Springfield to CNR: ‘See you in court’

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This article was published 11/08/2020 (2242 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canadian National Railways is being taken to court by the Rural Municipality of Springfield over damages to a municipally owned road.

On March 23, Springfield filed a statement of claim with Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench which seeks remedial and maintenance costs along with general and specific damages from the railway for damage caused to Symington Road, which runs outside of Symington Yards just east of the city limits. A source pegs the damage at approximately $300,000.

That area is known as a switching area, where trains destined for various parts of North America transfer to the appropriate tracks. According to the filing, derailments occurred on June 9, 2015, Dec. 17, 2016, June 17, 2017, July 24, 2017, Nov. 5, 2018, and March 28, 2019. Other incidents may be introduced in court.

It’s not the derailments as much as the ensuing cleanup that causes the damage, Springfield lawyer Orville Currie said in his brief.

He alleges the railway uses heavy equipment which sits on Symington Road, and that the equipment has damaged an approximate half-kilometre of the road. The municipality learned of the damage in 2015 and has repeatedly asked the railway to pay for reconstruction but it has refused, he said.

The CNR has yet to file a statement of defence but did issue comment.

“CN has a historically constructive relationship with the RM of Springfield and we remain committed to that relationship,” said Jasdeep Devgan, CN’s manager for Western Canada for public and government affairs.

“As this specific issue is ongoing before the courts, CN will not comment further at this time.”