River Hills Railroad Update

I mentioned a new Manitoba shortline, the River Hills Railroad, back in October 2009. At the time they were investigating the feasibility of acquiring the 100 km of track between Rathwell and Nesbitt that the Canadian Pacific Railway is abandoning. This piece of track is part of the CP Glenboro subdivision.

The Carman Valley Leader is reporting that a tentative deal has been reached to acquire the track. The River Hills Railroad has until February 28 2011 to make a $700,000 non-refundable deposit on the line. That is 10% of the total cost of the line. The railroad intends to issue shares after the harvest this fall.

There are currently two Paterson elevators on the line, at Cypress River and at Holland. The intention is to build several producer loading stations on the line so farmers can load their own cars.