PRESS RELEASE
| November 5 , 2003 Is BC Rail a Giveaway to Provincial Sovereignty?
Why is Premier Gordon Campbell selling off our provincial sovereignty to an American railway consortium that now owns CN? This consortium wants exclusive rights to control the passageway through China from eastern and central North America through Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Alaska and Russia. The proposal is to build an anti-magnetic high-speed railway (500 km per hr), which would save time, multiple handling and transportation costs to and from a billion-person market via China. In January 2001 construction for the world’s first commercial high-speed double track route began in China, from the east side of Shanghai to the Pudong International Airport in preparation of their 2004 Olympics. There are plans to extend this high-speed railway north to the Russian border. According to “Train Scan,” an online Canadian railway news web site, the unused CN line between Hythe, Alberta and Dawson Creek, BC via Alberta Railnet and CN would provide a reasonably direct link north from eastern and central North America. Even without restoring the CN link to Dawson Creek, CN still has the most direct route to Prince George from which to access either route north as it links with BC Rail at its southern terminus in Vancouver. The key to a rail link with Alaska rests with BC Rail, owner of the two possible starting points for construction northward, as well as a connection to Vancouver. That may explain the interest of not only CN and CPR, but also of others such as OmniTRAX and BNSF, all of whom are seriously interested in taking over BC Rail’s operations. If Premier Campbell is aware of such a plan, why is he not sharing this information with the people he was elected to represent? Why is he selling what could be a most valuable crown asset? If Premier Campbell is not aware of such a plan, what better opportunity to see this high-speed train firsthand while visiting Shanghai, possibly arriving from the Pudong International Airport in China. Southern California is now looking at the development of a high-speed rail network. The first route would extend from San Diego to Los Angeles to San Francisco to Sacramento. A high-speed rail express traveling 1180 km from LA to San Francisco would take approximately two hours. The next step would be to extend the line to Vancouver, BC, then up to Alaska. This route would be far more beneficial for British Columbia, as perishable goods would flow between Alaska, BC, Washington, Oregon and California much quicker. What better opportunity to look into the possibility of being the first province in Canada to build this high-speed train above the existing BC Rail tracks (similar to SkyTrain) from North Vancouver to Whistler in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Whoever controls these high-speed rail links would inevitably
dominate a world market. For that reason alone, BC Rail should
not be for sale. -30-
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