$12.1M sought for rail line

CN Rail has notified area communities it wants $12.1 million for the defunct CASO rail line that CN stopped using last summer.

Area municipalities got a letter last month from CN stating that it could now sell the rail line to area governments. Last fall, CN had to search for a prospective rail user before it could sell the property to a regional public entity. An unidentified organization expressed interest in buying the rail line last October and keeping trains on the tracks. No purchase deal was completed, so by law CN can now offer to sell the rail line to area governments.

The CASO Subdivision runs from Concession 8 in Tecumseh, through Essex and veers northeast to Tilbury on its way to Chatham-kent.

The towns of Essex, Tecumseh, Lakeshore and ChathamKent have until May 11 to respond to the sale offer.

“All four municipalities would have to get together and say they will pay their fair share and that’s not going to happen,” Essex CAO Wayne Miller said. “If we don’t agree to buy it by May 11, they will remove the rail and turn the land over to the CN realty, which will be able to sell it piece by piece. It’s my guess that it’s a lot of hassle for them and they’d like someone else to remove the rails.”

Essex Region Conservation Authority general manager Richard Wyma said he was following up with CN to better understand its offer. If the rail line were purchased with the tracks, the sale of ballast stones, rails and other components could lower the cost of acquisition, he said. In its letter, CN said its asking price did not exceed the salvage value of the rail line.

“We’ll also be speaking to Tecumseh, Essex, Lakeshore, Chatham-kent and the County of Essex to consider our shared interest in maintaining the rail for public use as part of the regional trails plan,” Wyma said.