Tuesday, June 05, 2007

CN shuts down freight service between Prince Rupert and Smithers


The heavy mountain run off and rising levels of area rivers has resulted in Canadian National Railways suspending service from Smithers to Prince Rupert.

The line was shut down Monday night and CN has no anticipated time of re-opening the line, requiring some time to examine the tracks, railbed and trestles along the northern system.

From the Prince George Citizen, we found the following article on the closure.

CN Rail line closed between Smithers and Prince Rupert
(Breaking News) 3 hrs, 39 min. ago
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
By Mark Nielsen
Citizen staff


The CN Rail line between Smithers and Prince Rupert was closed down Monday night thanks to heavy spring runoff and rainfall in the area, says company spokesperson Kelli Svendsen.

"We don't have an estimate on when that line will reopen because there's several affected sections in that area," she said Tuesday.

Svendsen was unable to give further details on how the sections have been affected and on any alternate plans for moving product CN may have put in place.

"This just occurred last night," she said.

The closure means CN Rail cannot ship products from Prince George to Ridley Terminal in Prince Rupert, Svendsen confirmed. When it's open CN runs as many as eight trains a day along that corridor.

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