The Cowichan Station Area Association, the first Vancouver Island group to Adopt a Mile on the rail corridor, completed a weed ‘n whack on June 6.
With Cowichan Valley Regional District grant assistance the association is also putting a new foundation under the old station and beautifying its grounds. Another weeding day along the tracks is planned for later in the year.
Community groups are invited to Adopt a Mile to clear growth along the rail corridor as an alternative to herbicide use.
Cowichan Station volunteers clear weeds from their adopted mile of corridor.
The Ministry of Transportation released the following today:
E&N RAIL CORRIDOR STUDY RELEASED
VICTORIA – The Province and the Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) have released a study that evaluates the economic potential and identifies future opportunities for the E&N rail line, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Shirley Bond announced today.
“The E&N railway has been an important component of the transportation network on Vancouver Island for 130 years,” said Bond. “We’ve worked with the Island Corridor Foundation to determine what conditions and economic circumstances need to be in place for the rail line to
Continue reading MOT Releases Rail Corridor Study
The Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) is a collaboration of First Nations and Regional Districts to protect the rail corridor that extends from Victoria to Courtenay and inland to Port Alberni. The corridor connects communities and provides opportunity for tourism, commuter and freight rail services and for recreation. It belongs to Vancouver Islanders in perpetuity.
A thriving rail corridor means green transportation for business and tourism as well as for commuters and local passengers.
Interested in establishing your business by the corridor? For information about leasing and property opportunities along the Island Corridor email property manager Dick Wright at dickwright@shaw.ca or ICF executive director Graham Bruce at granneke@shaw.ca.
In order for the train to run safely, vegetation along the corridor must be managed.
Like all rail corridor managers, the ICF is mandated to ensure that the track is safe and, as much as possible, free of fire risk.
To keep the corridor clear of overgrowth, annual spraying takes place. Detailed information on vegetation management is included on this site.
The ICF would be pleased to work with community groups interested in adopting stretches of the corridor to manage the weeds and foliage.
Blair McKinnon, the 30-year-old vice president of the Young Professionals of Nanaimo and a leader in the goal to restore the Nanaimo train station died on April 11.
The first annual ‘Blair McKinnon Celebrity Flag Football Game’ will be held in his memory on May 29 at Caledonia Field. Proceeds will go to the Nanaimo Train Station restoration project. To donate go to www.nanaimotrainstation.org
The Young Professionals of Nanaimo are well on the way to raising the funds to rebuild Nanaimo’s historic station that was razed by fire in 2007.
YPN is aiming to raise more than $1 million to restore the station to the look and standards of its 1920s hey day.
There are lots of good reasons for leading the station revitalization, says YPN president Andre Sullivan, including retaining history, culture and revitalizing Nanaimo’s town core. But topping the list is supporting ICF’s goal of sustainable green transportation.
“ICF has the ambitious goal of sustainable rail on Vancouver Island,” says Sullivan. “It’s up to each
Continue reading Campaign Underway to Rebuild Nanaimo Station
Mayors and councils representing Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast have all shown their support for increased passenger rail service on the Island.
Members attending the annual conference of the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities, unanimously endorsed a resolution that would see a main rail terminus established in Nanaimo with two trains heading south each morning. The trains would get commuters to work in Victoria and in communities along the way and would provide local passenger and tourism services.
Negotiations are underway with rail partners and government with the hope that by spring 2011 trains will be motoring south.
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