Great Sandhills Railway
The Great Sandhills Railway (reporting mark GSR) is a Canadian short line railway company that operates 123 miles (198 km) of track west of Swift Current, Saskatchewan in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.
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Overview | |
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Headquarters | Leader, Saskatchewan |
Reporting mark | GSR |
Locale | Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada |
Dates of operation | 2009–Present |
Predecessor | Canadian Pacific Railway |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
Length | 123 miles (198 km) |
Other | |
Website | www |
Great Sandhills Railway Empress Subdivision | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Great Sandhills Railway Hazlet Spur | |||||||||||||||
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Great Sandhills Railway Burstall Subdivision | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Great Sandhills Railway McNeill Spur | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. The Great Sandhills Terminal is the major shareholder while other shareholders include local producers and businesses.[1][3]
The railway serves freight stations in Sandhills, Burstall, Mendham, Leader, Prelate, Sceptre, Porteeve, 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]
References
- "Short-line rail company hauls first grain shipment". The Western Producer. 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
- "What's Happening - Archives". Great Sandhills Terminal Marketing Centre Ltd. 2008-07-16. Archived from the original on 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
- "08-09 ANNUAL REPORT, MINISTRY OF HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTRUCTURE" (PDF). PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
- Saskatchewan Railway Information