DARRELL BELLAART / DAILY NEWS AUGUST 30, 2013 There could be movement to get a Vancouver Island passenger rail agreement as early as next week. Federal Transport Minister Lisa Raitt recently said she’d try to persuade Via Rail to talk to […]

By Tamara Cunningham – Nanaimo News Bulletin The Island Corridor Foundation hasn’t met certain conditions needed for a passenger service agreement and until it does, VIA Rail isn’t willing to talk, says a representative for the Crown corporation. Graham Bruce, ICF […]

Island Corridor Foundation continues to press key issue DARRELL BELLAART / DAILY NEWS AUGUST 22, 2013 Rail advocates are counting on federal help to resume talks toward a passenger rail service agreement for Vancouver Island. The Island Corridor Foundation submitted its […]

ROB SHAW / TIMES COLONIST AUGUST 22, 2013 B.C. Transportation Minister Todd Stone plans to talk to Via Rail and the federal transport minister during the first week of September in an effort to sort out the Island rail dispute.Stone said […]

      The 220 kilometer stretch of the E&N track is a ghostly reminder of Vancouver Island’s passenger rail history. The line has been rusting away for the past couple of years, but there is a plan to revive […]

ROB SHAW / TIMES COLONIST  AUGUST 20, 2013 Canada’s transportation minister has promised Vancouver Island rail proponents that she will talk to Via Rail about a protracted dispute over the future of local passenger rail service. Lisa Raitt quietly met with […]

The federal government appears unwilling to intervene in a dispute between Via Rail and the Island Corridor Foundation over passenger train service on Vancouver Island. Transport Canada, which oversees Via, says it’s leaving it up to the Crown corporation to […]

DARRELL BELLAART / DAILY NEWS AUGUST 16, 2013 The gloves are off in the bid for a new Vancouver Island passenger rail service agreement. The Island Corridor Foundation has tipped its hand in negotiations for an agreement with Via Rail, the […]

Vancouver Island’s towns, cities and regional governments have banded together to pressure Via Rail into negotiating a new deal for local passenger train service. In a letter sent this week, the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities, which represents 51 […]

ROB SHAW / TIMES COLONIST AUGUST 14, 2013 A proposed passenger train service would start in Nanaimo around 5:30 a.m. and shuttle commuters to Victoria. Service was halted in 2011 due to track-safety concerns  Photograph by: Bruce Stotesbury, Times Colonist Island rail […]