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Feature - End of the line

Final whistle about to blow for Cariboo Prospector
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The sound of a train whistle is the sound of expectation.

It's the sound of dreams about to come true, of adventures to be had.

It is the sound of hope.

But hope is running out for those who have been working furiously trying to save the Cariboo Prospector before its service comes to an end Oct. 31.

No longer will the well-known airchime whistle be heard from North Vancouver to Prince George.

BC Rail can no longer afford to run the service, which lost $5 million last year. And even if they could live with the losses the self-propelled diesel Budd passenger cars have reached the end of their lives.

It is estimated by both BC Rail and VIA, which is refurbishing five of their own Budd cars, that BC Rail's cars would cost more than $30 million to rebuild.

No decision has been made yet on the fate of the Pacific Starlight dinner service train from North Vancouver to Porteau Cove and the luxury tourist-oriented Whistler Northwind which travels to Prince George.

"It's a difficult situation, no question," said Alan Dever of BC Rail.

"Nobody is happy about a situation such as this but there are objective realities we are facing and that is the unfortunate reality.

"We as a company need to deal with our financial challenges. We have to become a healthier enterprise and by becoming a healthier enterprise we will benefit the shippers which form the economic base of many of these communities.

"This is a very serious issue for us. Passenger service is certainly one aspect of our business but so is our freight operation and the freight operation is certainly a lifeline for many of the economic activities of the north."

But many up and down the rail line argue the passengers the rail line carries are also breathing new life into communities ravaged by the soft economy and softwood lumber tariffs.

"It is an integral part of our tourism potential," said Lillooet Mayor Kevin Taylor.

Whenever he can he organizes a royal welcome for the train with himself, his wife, the town's May Queens and other dignitaries on the platform to emphasize how important the tourists are.

Taylor and scores of other stakeholders up and down the line met at 100 Mile House in May to draw up a strategy to fight the Prospector's closure. By the end of the meeting a thick report was produced for Transportation Minister Judith Reid, which included a series of recommendations.

"We believe (the government) should look at the amount of money that is being spent by tourists in the Lower Mainland as the tours originate there and the visitors have overnight stays," said Taylor.

"So there is probably hundreds of millions of dollars spent in the overall economy and this has to be calculated in when you are consider the $5 million loss on the rail.

"There is going to be a transportation strategy coming forward and we believe there should be a moratorium holding this service in place until that study has been fully carried out."

Minister Reid confirmed that she has been given the task of studying B.C.'s transportation system.

"The task the premier has given me to do is to put together a strategic transportation plan for the province," said Reid.

"This will be looking at all the modes of transportation, what are the future possibilities.

"We are looking at where the economic opportunities in the province might be and what are the linkages and how to best provide it."

But the plan will not hand the Prospector a reprieve. The only hope lies with a private company taking over the passenger route.

"We want to see private enterprise, which does this successfully, or other rail operators who know how to run passenger services and tourism service successfully. come in and invest in this line and provide those services," said Reid.

"We have been working very hard to try and get that transition going and certainly we have been looking for those other operators and looking for ways for bringing this about and that is the process right now.

".That is how we believe we are going to get the very best service in tourism and in passenger services and that is what we are working toward."

But Graham Gilley of Rocky Mountaineer Railtours, which runs a successful luxury rail tour from Vancouver via Kamloops to Banff and Jasper, said there have been no meaningful discussions.

"There really has been no movement and we are not having any continuing discussion with BC Rail or the government in that area," said Gilley.

"Obviously we have interest in considering what might work on that route. But at this point we are not having any continuing discussions with them. Perhaps that may change down the road."

Said Catherine Kaloutsky of VIA Rail: "We have been involved in discussion," but at a very preliminary level.

Pat Corbett, owner of The Hills Health Ranch at 108 Mile, expects to lose over 11 per cent of his business when the passenger rail service comes to an end.

"This will be a devastating loss," he said.

"It is part of our community infrastructure. It is a part of our resort access infrastructure."

Corbett also took part in the 100 Mile House meeting of stakeholders.

"We think BC Rail management and the board have made a mistake for a multitude of reasons.. But the bottom line is that through mismanagement they have arrived here.

"We are asking for a moratorium on the decision to shut this thing down; a moratorium until a proper solution, which may even be a new operator, is in place. We are saying this is too pivotal a part of our transportation infrastructure. We need this. We need to save our passenger rail service."

And it is not just people living up and down the line who want to save the train.

Passengers love to land cruise and the Cariboo Prospector offers one of the most spectacular rides in Canada. From the coastal views of Howe Sound as you travel to Squamish, past the gushing and turbulent waters of the Cheakamus Canyon, on to the pristine and tranquil lake waters of Anderson and Seton lakes and beyond.

The most popular part of the trip, from a ridership point of view, is the section between North Vancouver and Lillooet.

Last year there were 65,600 one-way trips along that section, half of them went just as far as Whistler.

Mayor Hugh O'Reilly recognizes the importance of the rail service to Whistler but he believes it is unlikely Whistler will suffer in the long term, as tourists will either make their way here another way, or a private operator will recognize the value of the service and step in to run it.

"At the same time as we watch the service be removed by BC Rail I still believe that there is tremendous opportunity for rail service into Whistler in a variety of forms," said O'Reilly.

"I think one of the opportunities that we will see in the next couple of years is the land cruise, which is the higher end rail car like the Rocky Mountaineer.

"Maybe they will grab some of the people off cruise ships and have a nice day trip up to Whistler and come back.

"But I recognize that that is not going to help the northern communities because I think travellers are going to make Whistler their primary destination.

"For the North it is just one more transportation option being removed when they have so few to start with. But the province is in a very difficult financial situation."

Some locals had hoped that rail could be part of an overall transportation solution for the Sea to Sky corridor, especially when government figures are predicting 17 million annual trips through the corridor by 2025.

But studies released this summer don't support the idea. They found the railway carries less than 1 per cent of the people who travel to Whistler. And even more discouraging, the surveys found that even with capital improvements of $774 million, and huge operating subsidies, by 2025 the railway would carry no more than 200,000 people a year between the Lower Mainland and the Sea to Sky corridor.

For the passengers riding the rails the financial woes of the government and its studies seem a long way a way.

Trains have been part of 16-year-old Don Morrell's life for as long as he can remember.

"I love trains," he said, his bright eyes fixed on the scenery unfolding before him. Now it's a granite cliff which ends below in a frothing, churning river. Then it's a lake so still it looks like the mountains extend into its depth.

"I have grown up around them all my life, since I was born.

"I have a model railroad downstairs. I have a lot of trains and a lot of cars and I spend a lot of hours on it. I am putting scenery on it right now to make it look realistic."

Morrell's entire basement is devoted to the steam and diesel railway which he runs with his dad, Tom. The scale model trains can pass though your line of sight four times before they complete one circuit.

"The power, the strength that they represent, the history and the background that they have is amazing," he said holding a scanner in his hand. Morrell loves to listen to the chat between trains and engineers while he travels.

"I have an advantage listening to this," said the Seattle resident.

"I can hear what the engineer is doing. I hear what the dispatcher and the engineer are talking about. I know when the trains will come by because I can hear it and I know where it will stop and go.

"When I am on the train I can figure out where I am going because there are little track-side detectors that are computer automated and they tell the mileage, how fast the train is going and other information."

Morrell is sad the Prospector's whistle will soon be silent. He has travelled to B.C. every year since he was born to ride on the now retired Royal Hudson steam engine and the Cariboo Prospector.

"Trains formed both the US and Canada and they are really the only way to travel to see the scenery, and you can actually step outside and see different places," he says.

"I feel that a lot of people want rail to stay. We have the high tech trains but we have really got to look at where we come from."

In his spare time Morrell goes to his local rail yard and spends hours trainspotting with friends and relatives. When they travel to ride the rails the family even parks their camper in the train yard, where they fall asleep to the whistles, toots and clickety-clack of the trains.

"We're crazy, I know," he laughs. "But I have fun and it keeps me out of trouble.

"People should take the Prospector before it disappears. It is definitely something you want to do. It is fun."

Dr. Dennis Knutson couldn't agree more.

"I think people are trending back to realizing that life is short," said the Minnesota dermatologist who is taking the Cariboo Prospector day trip to Lillooet as part of his Canadian vacation.

"Things happen, like September 11 th , and people are saying we need to take time to smell the roses and train travel really allows you to do that.

"I think that we are realizing that we are losing some of the things that make us all human. I think people are saying let us go back to the past and explore what qualities and trips gave the opportunity to be with family, to do things together, to meet other people rather than rush, rush, rush. I think train travel offers all that.

"The other thing I like on rail is that you can get up and move around and you can meet other people. I have met wonderful people travelling on the train and it is great fun.

"I am sad that other people won't be able to do this in the future.

"The only downside is that if you are busy it takes more time. But I think it is the only way you can see the country without having to put out effort.

"It is a wonderful way to travel. The advantage of rail is that you can go into places that automobiles don't go and see things that are impossible by car."

Knutson is travelling with his three siblings, giving them a unique chance to visit, chat and move about while they take in some of B.C.'s most stunning vistas.

"If we could go by rail that is my preferred way," he said reaching for his camera to capture another image.

Knutson has travelled the Flam railway line in Norway, which travels from the sea to the mountains along hairpin turns and tunnels and passes by 20 magnificent waterfalls.

And he has taken trains in the US.

"The general impression I have always had is that Canadian railway was always superior because the US has devoted their energies to automobile travel," said Knutson who was distressed to learn the Prospector will turn into a pumpkin Oct. 31.

But the train is not just important for tourism. It also provides a lifeline for residents who live along the line who don't have road access.

After some discussion BC Rail has decided to run two rail buses from D'Arcy to Lillooet to serve the residents who make the trip more than 14,000 times annually.

William Alexander has lived in Seton Portage his whole life.

"We have had it all our lives," he said.

"We are used to it now. But changes happen. I guess it was a big change for our parents to only be able to get on the train as a passenger and not take your car. Before what they would do is load their cars on to flat decks and then take their cars into Lillooet.

"I guess progress goes along. They can't afford to run it anymore."

On many Fridays up to 100 people from Seton Portage and Shalath take the train into Lillooet, where they shop, see doctors and dentists and socialize.

Alexander said there was no way BC Rail could leave them without some sort of service. But instead of a washroom-equipped, warm in the winter and cool in the summer train car the residents will be getting a bus with wheels.

"For probably about 14 days a year we are isolated without any roads," said Alexander.

"The shuttle is better than nothing. I don't think there will be too much of an impact, but if there is more than 40 people going or coming we will have to do two trips.

"One of the conveniences is that when you go to town and you shop in a store when you are paying for it you tell them you're on the Budd car and they will put your shopping in boxes, and put your name on it, and where you are going, and you don't see that stuff again until you get off the train.

"Well we might work out a deal with some of the store owners to see if they could ship it over for us.

"Time marches on, things change."



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