Nanaimo, B.C.
 
11 Mar 1996

Mr. Premier, special guests, ladies and gentlemen. Good morning... Nice to see so many people here, clearly there is a good deal of interest in railroading here on Vancouver Island. Thank you for being with us today, I think you will like what we are going to say this morning. As is well known, the E&N Railway is an integral part of its future. The railway helped open up Vancouver Island and over the decades has helped businesses grow. Today, March 11, marks the beginning of a new initiative for rail freight transportation on the Island. We have created a new business called E&N Railfreight with a mandate and mission to market and deliver rail freight service on the Island... boldly and aggressively. We intend to make E&N Railfreight a major player in Island transportation.

We are not in the passenger Service business. We are pleased, however, to continue to make our track infrastructure available to VIA Rail Canada for passenger train service. We are also prepared to work cooperatively with any qualified group to investigate other passenger-related services consistent with our desire to manage this business aggressively and to make it grow.

E&N Railfreight is part of CP Rail, but it is also a separate business and operating unit. It will be marketed and managed by people working and living here on Vancouver Island. We have separated the new railway from our old Vancouver Division and given it its own management headed by Marty Cove. Marty and the E&N Railfreight Team will manage the railway from its new headquarters here in Nanaimo. The creation of E&N Railfreight comes as a result of two years of internal study and a lot of hard work. It also comes after a lot of dialogue with and listening to the various government, community, employee, and citizen interests with views about our business on Vancouver Island. Many of the people we talked to and worked with are here today. We also consulted broad public opinion, by surveying Vancouver Island residents, in order to ascertain their views directly and to determine what their aspirations for the E&N were. Our aim is quite simple... keep E&N Railfreight viable and work in partnership with our employees and the communities on the Island to build a sustainable, growing business that provides secure employment, while serving our existing customer base and growing the business as aggressively as we can.

It's a new railway, with a new look.

Before we move on, it is important to recognize some of the people that helped make E&N Railfreight a reality. First I would like to thank the Premier and his staff and associates who have shown leadership by addressing railway taxation issues and improving the investment climate for railways in B.C. This has contributed to our ability to move forward and make E&N Railfreight a reality. The Premier and his staff have consistently emphasized the importance of rail infrastructure to the economic health and future development of Vancouver Island and its various communities. I would also like to thank the E&N Steering Committee for their input, involvement and civic leadership in facilitating opportunities for individual Vancouver Island residents to come out to public meetings and express their views and aspirations about the E&N. The views of our customers on Vancouver Island have also been very important in our thinking in deciding to establish E&N Railfreight. And lastly, a special thanks to our employees. This new era could never have been launched without our belief in their cooperation. Today's announcement ends a period of uncertainty for our employees on the Island. The future is here and you are part of it.

Our success will depend on the active involvement of our employees, in partnership with E&N Railfreight management, with Vancouver Island communities and with the local, provincial, and federal governments. But ultimately the success of the new E&N Railfreight business will be in the hands not just of the employees and management of E&N Railfreight, but also of the industries and businesses on Vancouver Island. E&N Railfreight really is a team effort. It will succeed if our management and employees approach the future by seeking to work in partnership to build the business. We are confident that this approach will be successful.

Now lets take a look at what this new railway looks like...

To help me, I am going to ask Premier Clark to act as a railway dispatcher. Premier Clark, if you would please ask locomotive engineer Roger McNeill to move his locomotive forward through that banner so we can all get a first look at the new E&N Railfreight livery and image.

(Premier Clark uses radio, locomotive moves forward and stops.)

Thank you Mr. Premier.