Northlander says it could support Ring of Fire rail

If developers of the Ring of Fire pursue rail development, Ontario Northland says they can handle it.

Speaking at the annual FONOM conference in Timmins, ONTC CEO, Corina Moore says they’ve been in talks already with Chinese companies interested in the giant mining development.

“We can provide and support railway traffic control because that’s what we do out of our Engelhart station.  We can maintain the fleet in our Cochrane facility.”

“We want to make sure we are highlighting to however wants to listen, we are a rail organization and we can support any needs that occur in the future with regards to the Ring of Fire.”

Moore says they’ve begun expanding some of their operation from North Bay to Cochrane where growth and hiring new employees is on the rise. Moore also addressed the state of the Polar Bear Express which runs from Cochrane to Moosonee.  The train will see 14 refurbished passenger coaches phased in over the next three years starting this summer.  Cochrane Mayor, Peter Politis says this bodes well for the community in the short and long term.

“We’re looking at transporting all products from the South by rail to Cochrane as a hub then offload onto trucks from there East and West.  That’s the whole multi-modal concept.”

Politis says expanding the Northlander’s reach could eventually fuel the growth of more communities near rail lines and in Northern Ontario.

Meanwhile, Moore says they’ve lowered waiting times on several passenger lines and is admitting it’s been tough with the partial divestiture of the ONTC to hire new employees.  ONR went from 280 employees in 2012 to 635 in 2016.