7Mile inland port proposal ‘at the starting line’ for Tk’emlups

“With our access to highways and the opportunity for trucks to come in and load onto trains right in this area would be nothing but beneficial for the rail system.”

The proposed site is currently an empty plot beside the CN Rail tracks, but the facility is expected to be similar to the existing Ashcroft Terminal. Services offered could include storage, yard operations and freight handling.

“[The project] is intended to improve the resilience, reliability and efficiency of rail movements,” Tkemlúps Kúkwpi7 Rosanne Casimir said in a letter to the City of Kamloops.

“[It] represents a strategic opportunity to strengthen corridor performance by providing buffering capacity upstream of constrained rail segments, improving network resilience, supporting trade diversification and enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of Canada’s transportation system.”

In that letter, Tk’emlúps asked the city for a letter of support as it’s hoping to get funding through Transport Canada’s $5-billion Trade Diversification Corridors Fund.

“Funding will support the completion of key activities required to advance the project toward construction, including finalizing commercial commitments, engagement, technical and operational refinement, regulatory advancement and investment attraction,” Casimir wrote.

“We also acknowledge the foundational work completed to date, including corridor analysis and demand assessment, which supports the justification for continued advancement of the 7Mile Rail project.”

At their Sept. 1 meeting, Kamloops council opted to wait for more public engagement, in part because of concerns about increased train traffic in nearby Rayleigh. Residents in that part of Kamloops have long been concerned about trains blocking access to the community, especially during emergencies.

“We’re looking to help alleviate the pressures of trains stopping on crossways, to make sure they have a place to park and an ability to load and unload goods and possible overnight stays,” Gottfriedsen added.

“We’re working toward a presentation to the city just so they have the better insights into what the rail facility could look like.”

Details like what this inland port could look like and how many trains it could support are not yet known, as Gottfriedsen said the project is still in the feasibility stage. He added the project is connected to, but separate from, the 7Mile Renewable Fuels facility, which is also undergoing a regulatory review.

“It’s something we can look forward to starting more immediately than a sustainable aviation fuel plant,” Gottfriedsen said.

“We’re still at the starting line to make sure that everything is feasible and that we’re going to be good neighbours to CN and good neighbours to the City of Kamloops and that it is an acceptable business decision for Scwénwen.”

by Victor Kaisar

7Mile inland port proposal ‘at the starting line’ for Tk’emlups

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