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CN says waterfront developer never made proposal for Sault-Hearst track

Canadian National Railway (CN) says "no formal proposal" was ever made by Sault Ste. Marie waterfront developer Philip Garforth to purchase all or portion of the former Algoma Central Railway.
Canadian National Railway (CN) says "no formal proposal" was ever made by Sault Ste. Marie waterfront developer Philip Garforth to purchase all or portion of the former Algoma Central Railway.

CN spokesman Mark Hallman says Garforth "has never made an offer of any kind to CN for the acquisition of the rail line..."

The rail carrier objected to a story in the August issue of Northern Ontario Business that Garforth had made any kind of formal offer for the 470-kilometre Sault-to-Hearst line.

Hallman says any contact between CN and Garforth have been very general discussions about the tour train and its future direction.

Garforth told Northern Ontario Business he was partnering with Florida-based Patroit Rail to purchase the line with the prize of landing the Agawa Canyon Tour Train to integrate into his proposed $54 million Borealis tourist attraction on the Sault waterfront.

Garforth claims he made an offer to CN earlier this year and understood from his talks with the carrier that the line was available "under the right circumstances."

Patroit Rail is lead by former senior managers of RailAmercia Inc.,and are interested in acquiring short lines across North America.