FAQs
How is the public being included in the study process?
Public engagement and consultation with stakeholder groups and the wider community are key components of the project. In September 2024, a community engagement opportunity was held inviting feedback on priorities and preferences for the corridor, and the study team heard clearly there was interest in seeing rail activity that could reduce pressure on the highway, offer an alternative access to the Alberni Valley and improve safety.
Plans for a second engagement round were revised after the Wesley Ridge fire changed the direction of the corridor study process. The info we heard has informed the decisions in the final report.
What happens next?
With the final report now complete, the Working Group will continue to meet and work together on future potential options for the rail line, including both short and long-term goals. In the short term, further business planning is needed.
What is the Island Rail Corridor?
The Island Rail Corridor is the collection of parcels of land that make up the corridor, including the Victoria Subdivision, the Port Alberni Subdivision and the Wellcox Spur. The portion within the ACRD is the Port Alberni Subdivision.
Who owns the corridor?
The non-profit agency, Island Corridor Foundation (ICF), currently owns and has been responsible for management of railway assets and property on the historic E&N line since 2006. The Island Corridor Foundation is comprised of a 12-person board of directors, of whom five represent First Nations, five represent the regional districts, and two are members-at-large.
In 2015 the Snaw-Naw-As First Nation brought legal action against Canada and ICF, seeking reversion of former Reserve Lands, indicating that the land which the Island Rail Corridor sits on were no longer being used for railway purposes. In its September 2021 decision, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia gave Canada until March 14, 2023 to determine if restoration is in the public interest, and whether it will fund restoration. If funding was not provided, or a decision was not made, Snaw-Naw-As could return to court seeking an order vesting the lands as Reserve lands.
On March 14, 2023, a joint statement from Transport Canada and the Province of British Columbia reverted a portion of the E&N corridor land back to the Snaw-Naw-As First Nation, as the first step in the process of developing a shared vision for the future of the corridor with First Nations.
Based on this precedent and guidance provided by ACRD, this study is being conducted with the understanding that the rail corridor, and planning of the rail corridor within the ACRD, is under the combined jurisdiction/direction of the ACRD, Tseshaht First Nation and Hupacasath First Nation.
How is the study being funded?
The Rail Corridor Study is funded by a planning grant from the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, as part of the Province of British Columbia’s commitment of $18 million to First Nations and regional districts to study their respective portions of the Island Rail Corridor and identify opportunities for corridor use.