Clear the Tracks  

Let's turn the Island Rail Corridor into a
multi-use trail that connects Vancouver Island

Loon Lake, Mt Arrowsmith E&N  (Photo: Kiwibirdman CC BY 3.0)

Let's turn the Island Rail Corridor into a multi-use trail that connects Vancouver Island

The E&N is a gorgeous rail corridor that stretches from Victoria to Courtenay and Parksville to Port Alberni. But we aren't in the 19th Century any more!  It's time to pull up the tracks and create a continuous, multi-use trail connecting our communities and our First Nations. Why?

A continuous trail preserves the E&N Corridor for future generations at minimal expense. It can also adapt to First Nations interests more easily than rebuilding the railway.

Studies estimate $100 million in annual economic benefit from the trail (instead of millions in ongoing subsidies to make rail viable) as well as significant population health benefits.

Most proposals for renewed rail service have diesel-powered trains. A non-motorised, multi-use trail eliminates ongoing carbon emissions and creates a more natural environment.

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Green Lake Trestle on the Island Rail Corridor

Recent News

Jun 12 2023

Island Rail Corridor Feasibility Study

FORT-VI has completed a study of the feasibility of putting a trail on the rail bed of the Island Rail Corridor, funded by a $45,000 grant from the Federal Active Transportation Fund.
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May 5 2023

Time to face facts for the Island Corridor

The decision in March by the federal and provincial governments to return a portion of the Island rail corridor lands to the Snaw-Naw-As First Nation is likely the decisive blow to the concept of rail returning to the E&N corridor.
Read More

Mar 17 2023

Halalt First Nation also seeking return of land used for rail corridor

The Halalt First Nation near Chemainus is seeking the return of land taken from its reserve for the E&N railway in the early 1900s.
Read More
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