3 December 2004 City Offers $12.6 Million for CP Rail Line   Ottawa's O-Train   Ottawa - The City of Ottawa has made an offer to buy a major north-south rail corridor from Canadian Pacific for $12.6 million. If the deal is approved, the city will own the line from Leitrim Road to the Ottawa River. The city also wants to buy the Prince of Wales railway bridge to Gatineau.   Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli says the acquisition will be an important milestone in the expansion of Ottawa's light-rail system.   The city's offer works out to about a million dollars for every kilometre of the north-south corridor. Chiarelli calls that an excellent deal.   David Jeans, of the transportation advocacy group Transport 2000, agrees.   "They're getting a very good deal. For the bridge itself, they're spending less than $400,000, which is remarkable for a steel railway bridge, a very long one, that is in very good condition."   But just what will happen with the railway bridge hasn't been decided.   Chiarelli says there is a 50-50 chance it will one day link Ottawa's light-rail system to Gatineau. But, he says, the city could find other uses for the bridge.   "It could be used for pedestrian, cycling access between Gatineau and Ottawa. It could be recreational-type use down the road. But, on the other hand, it preserves the right for light rail for the fiture."   Construction on an expanded north-south rail system is to begin in 2006.