Canadian Pacific (CP) has announced that it will begin storing train cars along the Arbutus Corridor railway tracks beginning later this summer.
The railway company sent a notice to residents living along the corridor in Vancouver to notify them that the tracks are ready for operation.
“We will commence transporting and storing rail cars on the tracks in the coming weeks. We ask for your cooperation in staying off the railway corridor for safety reasons,” said Mike LoVecchio Director, Government Affairs West, in the letter.
Residents are reminded that it is illegal to walk, drive or cycle on or along the railway line as the Corridor is private property.
This will be the first time train cars will be on the Corridor’s tracks since 2001. Beginning in spring 2014, the City of Vancouver fought against CP’s track clearing efforts to remove any community gardens and structures.
However, in January 2015, a B.C. Supreme Court judge sided with CP given its private property rights, denying the municipal government’s request for an injunction on the clearing operations.
CP wants to sell the 11-kilometre long, 45 acre Corridor for its fair market value. The City of Vancouver has offered just $20 million for the strip of land, but CP believes the Corridor’s real value is $400 million.
The company has previously said that it will not settle for anything less than $100 million. CP maintains that restrictive zoning that designates the Corridor solely for greenway and car-free transportation purposes does not permit the company from gaining a full market value of its property.
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