District of Nanaimo pulls funding for island rail group

A group advocating for passenger rail service on Vancouver Island has being unhitched by the Regional District of Nanaimo.

For two years, the RDN has been putting money aside for the Island Corridor Foundation, to be given to them if the federal and provincial governments put money toward rail enhancements on the Island.

But last night, the board unanimously voted to stop collecting money for that pot, which had a little less a million dollars in it.

District board chair Bill Veenhoof says the decision was made because the ICF has not produced results.

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"The Board is just tired of waiting for rail to come, for trains to come, to the Island," he told All Points West host Robyn Burns. "We've been waiting five years … we've lost confidence in the day-to-day operations of the ICF."

VIA rail used to operate daily passenger rail service between Victoria and Courtenay but stopped in 2011 due to concerns over the safety of tracks and trestles that had fallen into disrepair. The Island Corridor Foundation owns the track and has been working on upkeep while advocating for service to return.

Veenhoof says the ICF originally was working for daily service from Nanaimo to Victoria, which turned into weekends only — "What we taxed for and we got are two different things," he said.

Another concern the District had was the ICF's retention of Granneke Management by the ICF board; a company operated by the ICF's executive director Graham Bruce.

Veenhoof says there's still a potential future for rail service on Vancouver Island, but it might be time to start exploring that potential future from scratch.

The ICF declined requests for comment.

With files from All Points West

To hear the full story, click the audio labelled: Off the rails: District of Nanaimo to stop collecting funds for passenger train group