CP Rail caught in crosshairs with new blockade near Kamloops
Credit to Author: Bloomberg News| Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2020 22:15:33 +0000
KAMLOOPS — Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. is the latest victim of rail blockades taking place across the country as protests against the construction of a B.C. natural gas pipeline enter a third week.
Demonstrators are now obstructing CP’s tracks near Kamloops.
“CP has been impacted by the blockades and continues to monitor the situation closely, in close collaboration with key stakeholders,” spokesperson Salem Woodrow said by email Thursday afternoon.
Environmental and indigenous-rights activists have obstructed rail lines in several provinces, protesting the construction of TC Energy Corp.’s planned $6.6 billion Coastal GasLink project. The pipeline is meant to ship natural gas to an LNG export facility under construction on the coast of B.C. that is backed by Royal Dutch Shell Plc, PetroChina Co. and three other partners.
The longevity of protests along CP’s railways will be key.
While Canadian National Railway Co. has been successful with obtaining injunctions to dismantle smaller blockades, it still had to cancel 400 trains last week and shut down its eastern Canada operations. CN said it will have to temporarily lay off about 450 workers.
CN won court orders to break up protests at rail lines outside Montreal and near Edmonton, according to reports from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.