Churchill Shipments Hit Three-Decade High

John Fenton, president and chief operating officer of OmniTRAX Canada, the Denver-based company which owns and operates the port and approximately 1,000 kilometres of northern railway lines, said shipping capacity will increase once upgrades are made to about one-third of the track. He said the company's goal is to see one million tonnes of product shipped through Churchill next year. He said a significant portion of a $68-million federal, provincial and corporate partnership to improve railway and port infrastructure will be put towards sprucing up the track, particularly between Gillam and Churchill. That will enable the trains to increase their speeds to an average of about 40 kilometres an hour. In some sections, the trains travel as slowly as 16 kilometres an hour. ... Lloyd Axworthy, chairman of the Churchill Gateway Development Corp., a non-proift group focused on the development of the northern town, said he believes Churchill has an opportunity to become one of the most significant transportation hubs in North America. "Churchill stands on the verge of being a catalyst for major growth for northern Canada and Manitoba, in particular," he told a press conference. "Churchill can be a community that leads the way in the development of the Arctic region." Axworthy noted that increased activity in Churchill opens up further opportunities along the mid-continental trade corridor through the U.S. Midwest and into Mexico, an area with between 60 million and 80 million people. Mike Spence, Churchill's mayor, was equally optimistic about future prospects. "There is a lot of excitement in terms of the next frontier," he said in an interview. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/business/story/4071769p-4673137c.html

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