Regina mayoral candidates split on rail relocation project

Rail lines are becoming a train of thought in Regina's municipal election.

Michael Fougere held a media event near Ring Road on Wednesday to discuss his commitment to getting rail lines away from traffic.

"I'm committed to eliminating the two sets of rail crossings at Ring Road," Fougere said. "We have 63,000 people a day who travel the Ring Road. [That's]63,000 people who are frustrated and sometimes angry for the delays."

Fougere said it's also a safety issue and he's committed to speeding up the process and getting it done. City council had started the project in 2018 and Fougere said they are looking for cooperation from CN and CP.

"They have agreed in principle to move forward with this project at the design stages where we're at right now. We expect to have that design work done sometime in the next year and that will lead to the construction phase," he said.

Fougere said the project has been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic but hopes to have construction started as soon as possible. The initial design is expected to cost about $2 million and the construction could cost anywhere from $70 to $100 million, Fougere said.

Fougere said the city will look for funding from the provincial and federal government when it begins the construction phase. The original project set out an eight-year timeline to relocate the Ring Road tracks.

Fellow mayoral candidate Sandra Masters held her campaign launch on Oct. 8 where she said she would not only look at moving the rail lines away from traffic on Ring Road via an underpass or overpass, but she wants the rail lines out of the city completely.

However, she said it's curious why Fougere is doing this announcement now.

"The question really is the timing of the announcement when it's been part of the plan for a number of years," Masters said. "Discussion about moving the rail goes back to 1987 and Mr. Fougere has been earning a city paycheck since 1997."

Masters said some politicians are just thinking in the election cycles instead of long term and there has been a problem with people not following through on promises. Masters said she would look at financing a large-scale railrelocation over the next few decades and get the rail lines out of downtown Regina.

"I know the rail lines area massive project and it would absolutely require alternate funding. And it is ambitious and probably 'pie in the sky.' But my point is it divides our city in half. If you look at downtown, there's something that needs to be done," Masters said.

Masters said she believes the lines on Ring Road could be moved out of the flow of traffic with an underpass or overpass in about five or six years, about the current plan, and the funds could be spread out through multi-year budgeting.

"There's nothing new about this. It's just nothing happening about it," Masters said.

Neither Fougere nor Masters were the first to have the idea to move rail lines. Decades ago, Regina mayor Larry Schneider had planned for a massive rail relocation project. It was halted in 1990 when funding was held back by the province. The federal government also cancelled its funding shortly after in 1992.

George Wooldridge, a former CP and CN employee and mayoral candidate says it's time to move on from rail relocation.

"[Fougere] needs to come out of the 1970s and 80s," Wooldridge said. "Honestly, we've done rail line relocations. It's very expensive. Sometimes all you're doing is you're kicking the problem down the road," he said.

When it comes to safety, Wooldridge said an underpass or overpass at Ring Road would be safer for the train conductors as well as drivers.

"As somebody who actually was working on a train [that] crossed ring road for the crews, it's hazardous. We don't enjoy it. It is dangerous for us as well as motorists," he said.

As well, Wooldridge said from his experience working at both major rail companies, if the price exceeds what's expected, it's the taxpayers that'll be on the hook.

"They're going to want to be compensated for the relocation of the lines and they're going to want to be compensated for any impact on their traffic," Wooldridge said of the companies. "That's where the elephant in the room is."