Hello mynot,

I dug into the issues of federal/provincial/private rail lines a year ago, and it is a complex landscape and regime of interlocking jurisdicion, where the Federal DoT often provides safety inspections of provincial "short line railways" but in other respects there is some jurisdictional confusion on other regulatory functions. "Ontario provides an example of the potential for confusion in the regulation of provincial railways. The Ontario Northland Railway (ONR), previously regulated by the federal government, has the powers and rights of railways conferred by the Ontario Railways Act as a result of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission Act of 1970, but in any other respects no Act applies. The ONR follows federal railway safety and operating standards but essentially is self-regulating" (Federal DoT website)

I went so far as to have discussions with a Provincial Government civil servant responsible in this area, and among the various options he brought up for a ROF railway, was Ontario Northland, as a vehicle for Provincial funding, as a crown corporation of the Province.

I believe there are others on this blog that have railway experience that can speak to this issue more eloquently, but I have suspected that at the end of the day ONR could be the vehicle the Province may use to further their public policy and investment in the ROF.

At the highest level, long term sustainability is tied to Ontario Northland’s status as an operational agency of the Province, directed through the mandate to:

Support and promote, through the services delivered by the Agency, northeastern Ontario economic development, job creation and community sustainability;

Through its services, support, promote and enhance linkages and clustering between communities within the region and between northeastern Ontario and other regions;

Deliver price-competitive transportation and telecommunication services that are safe, reliable and responsive to customers, residents and businesses in northeastern Ontario; and

Deliver services in a financially efficient and effective manner with an objective of improved cost recovery and self-sustainability. (Ontario Northland Long Term Sustainability Plan 2010)

With respect to Noront's announcement today, they continue to position themselves to be independant of any reliance on others (Cliffs) to execute their business plans, with talk of an all weather road to hwy 808 and then to a proposed rail junction. My opinon is that the jury is still out on this route, and Noront could easily change this element of their plans should the Province & Feds decide infrastructure should be built in another manner. I would expect that aboriginal consultations and their needs will also play a significant role in the Province's decisions.

Cheers Lakeside