Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food
Southern Saskatchewan’s Great Western Railway (GWR) carries carloads of hope for renewed regional prosperity to towns like Ponteix, Admiral and other localities hard hit by the agricultural crisis and the abandonment of railway lines over the years.
After a year of operation under new ownership, the projected number of cars, initially estimated to be 3,200, has been eclipsed, as 3,504 cars moved on Canada’s largest producer-owned short line during that period.
Acting General Manager Roger Gadd reviews this first year with weighted optimism.
“We've had some ups and down," says Gadd. "We had a major bridge failure at Meyronne in July that put us out of action for 11 days. We had seven grain cars derailed there. But once we got everything back into service, we've had a very good year ever since."
Fifty-two per cent of the 3,504 cars were producer cars, he explains.
"We have done very well on the producer side of things here, and business is picking up all the time.”
Gadd is especially proud to see more farmers interested in producer loading.
“Having a majority of the shareholders being farmers helps," he says. "Farmers give us a lot of business, and the whole area is showing interest in the service provided by our short line.”
Plus, there is a new development in the making: GWR recently acquired operating authority on the Fife Lake subdivision that runs from Assiniboia to Coronach.
“A group of rural municipalities, along with GWR, have acquired the former CPR line, which is now called the Fife Lake Railway Limited, to be serviced by Great Western Railway. Add to this the ethanol plant project that should be a go within the next year of so. That will also be a boost for us. One might say that things are booming.”
Gadd’s pride in the way things are unfolding at GWR should really not surprise anyone.
He worked with Canadian National Railways for 39 years and left there as Assistant Superintendent of Transportation. Then he became the General Manager of Carlton Trail Railway in Prince Albert for three years. Eventually, he ended up running a locomotive for GWR for a few months and took over as acting general manager in April.
“This is all old hat to me, but I’ll tell you one thing about this railway: it has been the most exciting time of my whole railway career, and that is just because of the enthusiasm of people in the area, the employees and a super board of directors. It is an enjoyable job, and there is so much future and so many things that are out there for us to grab a hold of. We are looking for some diversification to grow the business. We are a grain-dependent line right now. In the grain business, they have bad years, which will directly affect the amount of traffic the railway can haul unless we diversify.”
There is no doubt that Roger Gadd is in his element.
“I don’t think there is anything like railroading. It has always been a love of mine. I think it is the most interesting transportation industry around. It may have gone by the wayside for years, but it has had a tremendous turn around in the last few years. Trucking had taken a lot of our business away. I think that, with the short lines and regional railroads, we have taken some of that business back, and people are starting to see the benefits. We can haul grain much cheaper than trucking over the long haul.”
Gadd and GWR investors are banking that the dawn of a new era in railway transportation has just broken in Saskatchewan as they begin their second year with the new shareholder owners.