Suspension of Churchill's only rail line forcing business owners to lay off workers

At least five workers in the Town of Churchill have been let go after the only train into the northern Manitoba community suspended its service, andbusiness owners are warning more layoffs could be afoot.

"Quite heartbreaking," saidBelindaFitzpatrick,owner of the 31-room Tundra Inn and 10-bed hostel, who had to deliver the bad news to five workers Saturday.

It's our lifeline to our community.- BelindaFitzpatrick

"It was really upsetting."

Fitzpatrick had planned to open a seasonalrestaurant next week, but the closure of the rail line by Denver-basedOmniTraxhas now crushed those plans.

"It's our lifeline to our community," she said.

OmniTraxsays the rail line has suffered unprecedented and catastrophic damage that won't be fixed until the winter or even as late as next spring.

• Train to Churchill suspended after 'catastrophic' flood damage to track
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• Churchill residents frustratedOmnitraxshuts down 'lifeline'

"It's very nerve-racking," said Dale deMeulles, who together with his wifeRhodahasrun Churchill's hardware and lumber store for the past 14 years a shop they may soon have to close.

"We don't know how we're going to survive, to be honest," said RhodadeMeulles.

The couple said they've already started to warn staff about looming layoffs without supplies from the rail line, the Churchill Home Building Centre can't survive.

Dale deMeulles said 10 of his staff members will likely lose their jobs if the rail line isn't reopened in the next two months.

'We're just trying to survive'

"We're trying our best to keep them," he said. "They gotta feed their families just like everybody else."

He said layoffs last year at the Port of Churchill have already made business tough and taken a hit on his family's wallet.

"We're just trying to survive."

Still, he's not giving up hope.

"As a Churchillian, we will never give up," deMeulles said. "We've [had]so many hurdles in front of us and we keep jumping over them, but we need help this time."

Calls formilitary to help fix rail line

Rhoda deMeulles wants the federal government to send in the Canadian military to clean up and reopen the rail line, but that will take work.

OmniTrax says thetrack bed is washed away in 19 locations, with at least five bridges damaged, and 600 culverts need to be inspected for structural integrity.

• Blizzard-bound Churchill awaits supply train: OmniTrax says track cleared
• Port of Churchill layoffs 'came out of nowhere,' says town's mayor

CBC News has contacted Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale's office for comment.

Fitzpatrick is now contacting guests who were booked to stay at her hotel and hostelthis summer to see if they can afford to fly into the community instead of travelling by train.

But she's not getting her hopes up.

There have already been cancellations, and she estimates she will lose 90 per cent of guests who had planned to stay at her hostel many were planning to come to Churchill with Via Rail's sold-out Canada 150 youth pass.