'Massive change' doesn't jive with Canadian Pacific

Sudbury's push for 'massive change' doesn't include the Canadian Pacific Railway's (CP) support.

A city vision for a world class centre of innovation in downtown Sudbury sited on working railway lands doesn't meet with the rail carrier's business plan.

"We have no plans to move the yard in Sudbury," said CP spokesman Mike Lovecchio. "No formal approach (by the city) has been made to the company. At this point, I would regard the whole thing as a bit speculative."

A local proposal by a group called Imagine Sudbury is calling for a centre inspired by Sudbury native and internationally-acclaimed architect Bruce Mau. The group sees the rail yard as a vital part of an urban renewal plan for downtown Sudbury.

The proposal floated by the group at a recent Greater Sudbury Development Corporation is called the Centre for Massive Change.

However, the rail line is on CP's main transcontinental east-west corridor carrying container freight, grain and liquid bulk cargoes between inter-modal yards in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Chicago, Vaughan (north of Toronto) and Montreal.

"Sudbury is a key junction point for us and a key crew change location. That's a critical piece of our infrastructure," said Lovecchio.

The amount of daily traffic passing through Sudbury averages about 20 trains a day. During the height of the economic boom two years ago, there were 34 trains daily with a per-train length of 7,000 feet containing between 110 and 115 cars.

It's also a switching location where trains are built with local freight coming from two regional feeder lines operated by the Huron Central Railway and the Ottawa Valley Railway (OVR). "The yard serves our needs well. It's a strong centre of employment," said Lovecchio.

CP employs 80 people at its Sudbury rail operations. A workforce that grows to 180 during the summer track maintenance program.

Its major customers in northeastern Ontario are Essar Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie, Domtar in Espanola, Vale Inco and Xstrata Nickel in Sudbury.

CP is in the processing of pulling freight traffic away from the North Bay-based OVR, that normally would head east to Montreal, and is diverting it south on their main line to Toronto.

The Huron Central and the Ottawa Valley, two short line operators, provide locomotive power on CP track running between Sault Ste. Marie in the west, to Ottawa in the east.

Lovecchio wouldn't speak on specifics but said they are in close contact with their customers on both lines and are "coming up with options based on a number of scenarios floating around right now. But there's no hard and fast certainty at the moment and that's difficult for everyone involved."

The OVR has reportedly issued layoff notices to 50 employees in the North Bay and Smiths Falls area and traffic has dropped off to nothing because of disputes over track maintenance.

The Huron Central has threatened to close operations between Sudbury and Sault by June, citing major rail upgrade costs. As well, the short line carrier's freight contract with Essar Steel Algoma, a major CP customer, expired Dec. 31, 2008 and no new deal has been reached.

Lovecchio said all parties plan to "come up with a strong game plan that meets the needs of the customers and people are being deliberately quiet at the moment. I can tell you there's a lot of discussion going back and forth with the customers."