WINNIPEG – Manitoba says it will be looking closer at the potential of shifting Winnipeg freight rail traffic to a route just south of the city.
The government says Lloyd Axworthy will lead the 90-day feasibility study and consultation to explore how realistic it is to try and move the traffic to a route that would follow a Manitoba Hydro corridor.
It says the work builds on a rail relocation study that Axworthy was asked in 2024 to lead.
Proponents of rail relocation say it would increase safety by no longer shipping hazardous materials through residential areas.
They have also cited a desire to remove large rail yards that serve as barriers between neighbourhoods.
The idea of moving rail lines has been brought up since the 1960s, and the cost has been estimated at well above $1 billion.
The Journal of Commerce will have more on this story.
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