Discussion on Rail Safety set for Prince Rupert January 26th

The transport of energy resources  by rail will be the topic of a public
presentation from the Prince Rupert Environmental Society on Saturday
(photo from CN Rail archives)

The Prince Rupert Environmental Society is raising a flag of concern when it comes to what will be a significant increase in the shipment of energy and liquid resources through the Port of Prince Rupert in the years to come, with the Society hosting a Public information session on Saturday night in the Orca Room of Chances Prince Rupert.

The evening will feature a presentation from Bruce Campbell, author of the book the Lac Mégantic Rail Disaster, who will also be part of the discussion on the risks that environmentalists say are posed by the dramatic increase in the transportation of dangerous goods.

Some of the focus for the Prince Rupert session will be the soon to open Alta-Gas Liquid propane terminal at Ridley Island which is scheduled to open later this Spring.

Two other terminals are also of note for the organization, the Pembina LPG terminal proposed for the City of Prince Rupert's Watson Island site and a bulk liquids terminal proposed by the Dutch energy giant Vopak, which is currently exploring its plans through the province's environmental process.

With the Alta-Gas terminal coming into service this year, and the others on their time lines for development over the next few years, it's anticipated that the volume of rail traffic travelling along the CN main line from Prince George to Prince Rupert will increase significantly as rail cars arrive at the North Coast terminals.

The topic made for a presentation to Terrace City Council last Monday, with Ann Hill of Northwest Watch expressing the concerns of her organization over Rail Safety in that community.

You can review some of the notes from that presentation, as well as a previous response from CN Rail on the issue from our CN Rail archive page here.

Saturday's Prince Rupert co-presentation with the Friends of Wild Salmon will take place starting at 7 PM at the Chances facility on First Avenue West.

A look at some of the terminal proposals for Prince Rupert can be explored below:


Alta Gas
Pembina
Vopak

More background on Saturday evening's presentation can be found from the Prince Rupert Environmental Society's Facebook page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.