A petition for The Island Rail Corridor

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It’s been more than twelve years since passenger rail on Vancouver Island ground to a halt.

Back in the 19th century, governments gave away around two million acres of land on southeastern Vancouver Island to get The Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway built. Now it sits abandoned.

But the unbroken 289 kilometre corridor stretching from Esquilmalt to Courtenay is still almost entirely intact.

In March, a small portion of the land was returned to the Snaw'naw'as first-nation. At the same time, the provincial government announced it would provide 18 million dollars to study the future of the corridor.

Transcript:

Transcription Incoming.

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Guests:

  • Warren Skaalrud - Restore Island Rail

  • Alastair Craighead - Friends of Rails to Trails - Vancouver Island

Program Team:

  • Joe Pugh — Host and Producer.

  • Jesse Woodward — Executive Producer.

  • Arbie Fru — Technical Assistance.

Theme Music:

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Joe Pugh