CNS Canada — The federal government says it’s prepared to restore rail service to Hudson Bay at Churchill, Man. The Hudson Bay Railway, running from The Pas to Churchill, was closed in the spring of 2017 after flooding damaged multiple sections of the route to the northern Manitoba community. U.S. rail operator OmniTrax, the line’s […] Read more
Feds step in to restore rail service to Churchill
Washouts shut Hudson Bay Railway for shipping season
Flooding and rail bed washouts on sections of northern Manitoba’s Hudson Bay Railway have led the line’s owner to suspend its operations indefinitely. The closure of the portion of the line running from Amery, Man., about 50 km northeast of Gillam, north to Hudson Bay at Churchill, all but ensures no Prairie grain, other than […] Read more
Development fund set up for Churchill
The federal Western Economic Diversification (WD) department will put up $4.6 million for economic development work at and around Churchill, Man. after grain export operations were suspended at the town’s Hudson Bay port. Navdeep Bains, the federal minister responsible for WD, announced the new fund Friday at Churchill, saying it will back “projects that grow […] Read more
Churchill layoffs in effect, uncertainties remain
CNS Canada — Layoffs from Manitoba’s Port of Churchill are now in effect, but questions remain for those formerly employed by the port, the future of the town and the dynamics of Canadian grain handling. Answers to those questions aren’t coming from OmniTrax, the Denver-based railway that operates the port, as company officials have remained […] Read more
Northern port supporters appeal to government
A consortium supporting continued operation of the Port of Churchill met with federal and provincial government representatives this week in search of ways to keep the port open. “This is an emergency for our community, our region and indeed our country,” Churchill Mayor Mike Spence in a release. “We’ve been told by farmers that there […] Read more
Farmers dismayed over Port of Churchill closure
Manitoba’s largest general farm organization Keystone Agricultural Producers is calling on the federal government to keep the Port of Churchill operating until the end of the 2016 shipping season and beyond. Workers at the Port of Churchill were told Monday there would be no grain shipments going through the port this season, leaving approximately 10 […] Read more
Port of Churchill closing, blindsiding workers, industry alike
Commodity News Service – The largest employer in Churchill, Manitoba will shut its doors, leaving employees and loaded cars alike stranded on the tracks. Workers at the Port of Churchill were told Monday, July 25, there would be no grain shipments going through the port this season, leaving approximately 10 per cent of Churchill residents out of […] Read more
‘Veil of uncertainty’ shrouds Churchill’s shipping season
CNS Canada — Manitoba’s Port of Churchill is facing an uncertain grain shipping season, as ownership of the Hudson Bay facility is still up in the air, months after owner OmniTrax announced plans to sell the port and the railway that serves it. Denver-based OmniTrax announced in late 2015 it had accepted a letter of […] Read more
Man. First Nations seek to buy Churchill port, rail line
Manitoba’s northern First Nations have responded to the “for sale” notice on the port and rail line that allow Prairie farmers and handlers to ship grain exports through Hudson Bay. The Canadian arm of U.S. shortline firm OmniTrax confirmed Friday it has a letter of intent in hand from a group of First Nations in […] Read more
Churchill to move pulses this fall, consider partnerships
Churchill | CNS Canada –– As its shipping season gets underway, the operators of Manitoba’s Port of Churchill are considering options for keeping the port viable going forward — especially as the end looms for its government subsidy. Churchill has previously relied on the Canadian Wheat Board as its primary supplier of grain, but in […] Read more
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