Clock ticking toward another winter without rail service for Churchill

The window to repair the flooded rail line to Churchill is slowly shutting as no deal is in place to buy the rail line, but the push for action continues on some fronts.

A request has been made byNDP Leader WabKinewto the federal transportation minister to intervene and speed up repairs to the flooded rail line to Churchill.

So far, according to Kinew,the plea hasbeen ignored, despite the CanadaTransportation Act giving Transport Minister MarcGarneauthe authority to force the company to act.

It was the OppositionNDP'sinitial complaint to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) that resulted in an order to Omnitrax's subsidiary, the Hudson Bay Railway,tostart repairingthe damaged line by July 3.

The order to do the work has beenappealed bythe Denver-based companyin federal court, but no hearing day has been set to hear the arguments.

• Omnitrax appealing federal order to repair Churchill's severed railway

Kinewwrote to Garneauat the end of July.

"What I wrote to the federal minister was, 'You have the powers to vary, meaning you can change these CTAorders to give it teeth, so I am appealing to you to give this order more teeth to basically give a kick in the pants to Omnitrax to fix the rail line this yearbefore snowfall,'" Kinewtold CBCNews.

Kinewsays he's hearing the opportunity to fix the line is growing slimmer with each passing day.

"If we don't see shovels in the ground and spikes being laid within the next few weeks, my concern is the people of Churchill, through no fault of their own, will be forced to endure another winter of high energy prices and job losses," Kinewsaid.

CBCNews has asked fora response from Garneau'soffice regarding Kinew'srequest.

Omnitraxsays it's ready to trigger repairs if someone else pays for it

Omnitraxmaintains it can't afford to do the repairs, but wrote to the CTAon Aug. 1 outlining plans it has initiated to get the line fixed as soon as possible.

The company's letter, obtained by CBCNews, says Hudson Bay Railway'sengineering consultant, AECOM, has pre-screened six potential contractors for the repair work, four have been on the rail line to look at the work and the company expects multiple bids for the job.

"As soon as the bids are received they will be reviewed in detail and a contract will be awarded to the successful bidder (assuming the funding from the new purchaser with the support of the federal government is obtained)," wrote Hudson Bay Railwaypresident Sergio Sabatini to the CTA'schief compliance officer.

Meanwhile, efforts by a consortium of northern First Nations and communities and a Toronto company, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., to buy the rail line and port facilitiesappears to be stalled.

Winter propane for Churchill will come by sea

Meanwhile, work isunderway to supply the northern community no matter what happens with the rail line.

Superior Propane, in consultation with Manitoba's Emergency Measures Organization, has ordered a winter supply of propane to be delivered by sea.

"Given the logistics support timelines and complexity, decision to commit to shipping adequate propane supply to Churchill to last until follow-on shipments can be made in 2019 was required without confirmation or certainty on rail service resumption," wrote a spokesperson for the Manitoba government.

Politically, the province has remained on the sidelines of the Churchill rail issue with Premier Brian Pallister and his ministers maintaininga solution is the responsibility of the federal government.

• A year on, Churchill still waits for repair of rail line as confusion continues over who will fix it
• Jet fuel supply tight in Churchill despite resupply

Calm Air president Gary Bell toldCBCNews his company is waiting to see ifthe repair work will be completed before ordering a new supply of jet fuel for his aircraft as shipping products by sea is much more costly than by rail.

A request to the various federal departments for information on gasoline supplies and food subsidies for residents of Churchillhas been made by CBCNews. A spokesperson for the federal department Western Economic Diversification Canada says they are working to gather the information.

Churchill Mayor Mike Spence declined comment as he remains in the midst of negotiationsas part of the group attempting to purchase the rail line and port from Omnitrax.