Rail connections coming back, Hwy 5 update expected soon

After being severed for over a week, rail access to the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest, is expected to be restored by midweek.

In an update to media Tuesday, Transport Minister Rob Fleming said Canadian Pacific Railway should be rolling by end of day Tuesday, with Canadian National expected to be online sometime Wednesday.

This comes as the minister called efforts between government and the private sector to get goods moving a “remarkable achievement.” Once the rail lines open, extensive work will take place to ease backlogs.

“The ability to move essential goods by rail is a major development, not just for B.C., but for all of Canada,” he said.

Airlines have increased cargo shipments to the province, and a record number of products are moving across the United States border to the Interior and elsewhere.

Fleming said a “substantive update” on the state of Highway 5, the Coquihalla, is expected in the coming days. He said engineers and geotechnical teams continue to assess the damage.

As another atmospheric river is anticipated to move through the province over the next few days, he said extra crews and equipment are on standby and highways may be closed preemptively for safety reasons.

He said teams continue to make very good progress on repairs, thanks in part to thousands of people pulling together and mobilizing. He said about 250 pieces of heavy equipment are working at sites across the province.

“This is an amazing and humbling development to see the outpouring of goodwill and the willingness to rebuild our province,” Fleming said.