The Island Corridor Foundation has reached a deal with CPR to acquire
its portion of the E&N Railway. "The deal with the CPR is pretty much
signed, sealed and delivered," Jack Peake, foundation chairman said
Thursday. He did not disclose the details of the deal, but said it
will likely be officially signed at the foundation's Annual General
Meeting. While a date and a venue for the AGM has not yet been
announced, Peake expects it will be held near the end of March. "It
is hugely historic, no doubt about it," he said about the deal. The
foundation, made up of a consortium of municipal and regional
governments, is also moving full steam ahead to acquire the 289
kilometres of track RailAmerica owns on Vancouver Island, Peake
said. "We are a lot closer to being able to do something with
RailAmerica," he said. "We also have a number of potential operators,
not just one, wanting to run the railway." Peake attributed the
success of forward moving talks with RailAmerica to its success in
reaching a deal with CPR.
(Nanaimo Daily News 050311)