Great Sandhills Railway Explained

Railroad Name:Great Sandhills Railway
Logo Filename:Great_Sandhills_Railway_logo.jpg
Logo Alt:Great Sandhills Railway
Parent Company:Regional Rail, LLC
Marks:GSR
Locale:Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada
End Year:Present
Predecessor Line:Canadian Pacific Railway
Length:198km (123miles)
Hq City:Leader, Saskatchewan

The Great Sandhills Railway is a Canadian short line railway company that operates of track west of Swift Current, Saskatchewan in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The railway began operations on March 14, 2009.[1] Great Sandhills Railway owns and operates on former Canadian Pacific Railway's Empress Subdivision, Burstall Subdivision and Hazlet Spur (collectively known as the "Empress Short Line"). Great Sandhills Railway also operates on the McNeil Spur, but this track is owned by a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Sandhills Terminal.[2] The purchase price for the Empress Short Line and the McNeil spur was $6.3 million, with $1,907,200 funded by a provincial loan under the Short Line Financial Assistance Program. At startup, the Great Sandhills Terminal was the major shareholder while other shareholders included local producers and businesses.[1] [3]

The railway serves freight stations in Burstall, Mendham, Leader, Prelate, Sceptre, Portreeve, Lancer, Abbey, Cabri, Battrum, Pennant, Success, Cantuar, and Swift Current. It interchanges with both the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Great Western Railway in Swift Current, via running rights on CP's Maple Creek Subdivision between Mayne and Swift Current.[4]

The railway hauls grain from terminals, elevators and producer loading sites, and also moves products from the Empress Gas plants in Alberta.[1]

In November 2022, G3 Canada sold the railroad to 3i Group's Regional Rail, LLC.[5]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Short-line rail company hauls first grain shipment. The Western Producer. 2015-11-04. 2009-03-26.
  2. Web site: What's Happening - Archives. Great Sandhills Terminal Marketing Centre Ltd.. 2015-11-04. 2008-07-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20100505233318/http://www.gst.ca/home.html?step=4&grp=19. 2010-05-05. dead.
  3. Web site: 08-09 ANNUAL REPORT, MINISTRY OF HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTRUCTURE. PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN. 2015-11-04.
  4. http://sinfin.net/railways/world/canada/sask.html Saskatchewan Railway Information
  5. Web site: Regional Rail expands into Canada with acquisition of short-line rail portfolio . 2022-11-11 . gsrail.net . 3i Group; Great Sandhills Railway . 2023-01-07 . PDF; 89 kB .