Everybody’s looking for a depot

The excitement over the future for the Fairview Container Port is spreading to burgs near and far. Grande Prairie is the latest town in Western Canada to think it might be handy to hop onto those CN expresses to Chicago and Memphis.

In the case of the Northwest Alberta city, it’s the thought that a container depot (much like the recently announced plans for Prince George) might be just the thing to cash in on the new economy soon to arrive in Western Canada. The problem for the folks in Grande Prairie seems to be the increase in interest in Edmonton in building a giant marshalling yard of their own, which might make the yard further north redundant.

Regardless, they won’t be denied the dream in Grande Prairie, even if as they say it’s becoming a bit of a nightmare and the inter provincial rivalry is heating up .

From GP to PG, and all points near and far, fortune it seems comes in a 40 foot TEU…

Container depot project questions arise from Edmonton, PG initiatives


Container depot project questions arise from Edmonton, PG initiatives

Paszkowski admits he hoped project would be further along
By DARRELL WINWOOD
Herald-Tribune staff

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

The dream of building a large container rail depot in Grande Prairie could be turning into a nightmare for local organizers, but they're not giving up yet.

For more than two years, the County of Grande Prairie has been hoping to build a large railyard near Four-Mile Corner. The depot would act as a loading yard, allowing local commodities to be shipped directly to the new Port of Prince Rupert on the B.C. coast.

The yard would be a dramatic economic boost for the region, but it turns out Grande Prairie isn't the only city in Alberta considering such a facility. Edmonton has set its sights on a similar plan, raising the question of whether a container depot in the capital city would kill Grande Prairie's proposed facility.

Walter Paszkowski, the County of Grande Prairie's economic development officer, is Alberta's representative on the board of the directors for the Port of Prince Rupert.
He admits the local project is not as far along as he had hoped it would be with only six months until the port opens.

"We feel we can do a stand-alone here that could be a success. It's been frustrating because it should have been up and running by now," he said.

He said Edmonton is clearly targeting its own expanded depot.
"No question, they're trying to," he said Monday.

Edmonton officials signed a new co-operation agreement Thursday with Prince Rupert and Prince George to strengthen the Alberta capital's position as a potential hub for rail traffic. CN in Prince George is already building a depot yard to service that region and Edmonton is the largest city on CN's main line from Prince Rupert with access to other transportation links such as the Yellowhead Highway.

The Port of Prince Rupert will open in October and become the closest port to the Asian markets, roughly 36 hours closer than Vancouver. An expansion plan is already in the works because of anticipated demand, even though the main port hasn't opened yet.
"We've been watching the progress at the port," said Lori Schmidt, director of transportation and logistics with the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation. "We don't want to see (the trains) whistling through to Chicago without stopping."

Schmidt said Edmonton definitely wants in on the potential of the port, but doesn't feel it would compromise efforts in Grande Prairie.

"We've basically been looking at the Capital Region," she said. "Grande Prairie can look at the same thing ... we didn't look as far as Grande Prairie (in our case study)."

If a container point was built in Grande Prairie, its main focus would be on lumber and grain shipments, while Edmonton is focused on manufacturing and petrochemical products created on refinery row east of the city. However, Schmidt said grain and lumber could also be routed through Edmonton.

Paszkowski said the ultimate decision could rest with CN, which will handle the shipping in and out of the port and controls the rail lines through Grande Prairie.

Grande Prairie's plan has received tentative funding support from the federal agency Western Economic Diversification, but it's conditional on support from CN for the yard.

"In (CN's) perfect world, the trains would run from Prince Rupert to Chicago without stopping. We've been caught in the process of getting support from CN," said Paszkowski.

It's not just Grande Prairie that's counting on a Peace Country container depot.

Renee Bernier, economic development officer for Northern Sunrise County, said the North Peace is firmly behind Grande Prairie's plan.

"We need to get CN to the table," she said.

Bernier said the region is already having trouble shipping grain. A Peace River area company, Great Northern Grain, has launched a federal complaint against CN alleging poor service. Having to ship products to Edmonton adds seriously to transportation costs.

"It makes our ability to compete globally that much tougher," said Bernier. "If we had the ability to sort in Grande Prairie ... our ability to distribute would be that much better."

A spokeswoman for CN in Vancouver denied the company is holding the hammer on where a container port will be built. Kelli Svendsen couldn't comment much on Grande Prairie's chances, saying only that CN and the county met in December.

It's now up to the county to prove the economics warrant building a depot in Grande Prairie and the county must also prove the shipping companies would accept cargo from that region.
"CN is not the only decision-maker," she said.

Paszkowski, Bernier and Schmidt are all adamant that even if a depot is built in Edmonton, it doesn't mean the end for Grande Prairie.

"This container depot is not going to go on the back burner. There's no way it's dead," said Bernier.