Transport $36 million announced to strengthen the New Brunswick Southern Railway so it can carry heavier payloads

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Chris Morris
Telegraph-Journal

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McADAM - A $36 million investment in the New Brunswick Southern Railway announced Tuesday promises to create new jobs and new trade opportunities for the province's forestry and manufacturing sectors.

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Matthew Sherwood/Telegraph-Journal

From left: Frank Carrol; Rodney Weston, Saint John MP; Greg Thompson, minister of veterans affairs; Jim Irving, president of New Brunswick Southern Railway; Shawn Graham, premier of New Brusnwick, Denis Landry, minister of transportation; and Rick Miles, MLA Fredericton Silverwood, at the railway station in McAdam. Thompson and Graham announced federal and provincial support for upgrades to the New Brunswick Southern Railway. Both governments will jointly commit up to $18 million for this project.

David Ganong of Ganong Bros. Ltd., was in McAdam as government and railway officials revealed details of a major upgrading to the short line that will make it easier and more competitive for companies to rely on rail.

Ganong said his candy-making operation in St. Stephen gets its two major raw materials - corn syrup and sugar - on rail cars that roll up to the side of the factory.

"If we didn't have rail service in St. Stephen and these had to be trucked in from various places, it would be much more expensive and it would hurt the competitiveness of our company," Ganong told reporters.

"This announcement will solidify rail service not just through McAdam but into St Stephen for a very long time. We're absolutely delighted."

The federal and provincial governments are each contributing $9 million for a combined total of $18 million to help strengthen and upgrade the Southern Railway so it can carry heavier payloads.

The company, part of the Irving Transportation Group, will match the government funds for a total investment of $36 million over the next two years.

"These railway upgrades are good for our customers, the environment and our business," Jim Irving, president of New Brunswick Southern Railway, said at the announcement.

The work will include upgrading and replacing ties, steel rail, rail bed and bridges. Improvements also will be made to the railway's terminals in Saint John and McAdam as well as its mainline track from west Saint John to the New Brunswick-Maine border, and from McAdam to St. Stephen.

Ross Creelman, managing director of Marwood, which pressure treats lumber, said the announcement is good news for his company and the forestry sector.

He said 40,000 hardwood rail ties will be required for the upgrading. He said the wood will have to be cut, sawn and treated which means idle sawmills can expect to get much-needed work, along with his operation located near Fredericton Junction.

"It is a lot in this market because the U.S. market is so slow right now," Creelman told reporters at the McAdam announcement.

"It will help maintain jobs. They (the ties) will be pressure-treated at the Junction and then there will be sawmills in New Brunswick that will manufacture the hardwood ties. It will create a lot of work in the lumber industry."

He said the job will maintain eight jobs at the Marwood facility.

Irving said the upgrading will sustain 40 jobs at the railway and add 35 to 40 seasonal workers.

Creelman said the heavier payloads of Southern Railway also will allow his company to become a rail customer.

"We will be a customer," he said.

"Getting the rail cars up to the full weight particularly for shipping for long distances is important. It also will allow the cars to be interchanged with other railroads. Once the railroad is up to the spec of other railroads, we'll be able to use it for shipping."

He said rail is better than truck transportation because it leaves much less of a carbon footprint.

"In addition, we would be able to use the railroad for bringing wood into Marwood since there is a siding at Fredericton Junction."

Creelman said that once the upgrade is complete and Marwood can use more rail, it should take about 400 trucks a year off the highway.

"It's very significant," he said.

The difference in weight classifications between the major rail services such as CN and the short-line operators has been a major challenge for Southern Railway.

Most of the Class 1 railroads in North America are rated at 286,000 pounds, which is the weight of the payload and the car itself.

The smaller short-lines, Southern Railway included, are rated at 263,000 pounds.

The upgrades for Southern Railway mean it will be able to carry heavier payloads at 286,000 pounds.