We can build rail cars in Capreol!

Nickel Belt Green candidate Stuart McCall says that only the Green Party is talking about rail issues during this election – and Nickel Belt voters should take note.

“Only the Green Party has a comprehensive plan to revitalize our rail networks,” says McCall. “Canada was linked together by rail, yet successive Liberal and Conservative governments have left our rail systems to whither. Communities like Capreol, which provided for the needs of our rail systems, have been forgotten. I want to change that.”

The Green Party is calling for a national transportation strategy which includes significant new reinvestment in rail, including expanding VIA rail through an infusion of $600 million in 2016-17, investing in high-speed trains in corridors where they make sense, and supporting facilities to build more made-in-Canada rail cars to transport goods.


“The future looks bright for rail, if we choose to invest,” says McCall. “Getting serious about carbon pollution means that transporting goods by rail will become more competitive – but we’ve got to make sure that we have the infrastructure in place to handle the demand.

“Capreol is strategically positioned to be a hub for new rail car manufacturing,” says McCall. “We’ve got to start building and refurbishing the rail cars needed to transport a larger amount of goods. Capreol, with its historic association with rail, makes sense to me as a prime location for a new industry. Since a chromite smelter seems to be off the table as a means of job creation in Capreol, it’s time to look at how best this Greater Sudbury community can capitalize on the zero-carbon economy.”

Stuart McCall has long been a supporter of rail, and has in the past commented on the need to relocate freight yards out of downtown cores to areas where they make the most sense for rail companies and citizens. The Green Party believes that moving rail yards out of dense, urban cores will create efficiencies for rail companies, including the ability to run trains at higher speeds. The Green Party is also calling for stronger safety rules that give rail regulators the tools they need to protect communities from derailments like those that happened in Lac Magentic and Gogama.


“Higher operating capacity doesn’t have to lead to more derailments,” says McCall. “ By working with the train companies, regulators and communities, we should be able to increase capacity and safety at the same time. Moving the freight yards out of communities like Sudbury will help promote safety, protect drinking water, and provide the City with fully-serviced land downtown for brownfield redevelopment opportunities. What we’re talking about is a win-win-win situation. It’s a shame that in this election only the Green Party is taking the issues of the future seriously.”


from Northernlife.ca