Flood-Damaged Rail Lines in Vancouver and Southern B.C. Expected to Remain Impassable for Days

The rail lines that link Vancouver, B.C. and the southern part of British Columbia with the rest of Canada are flood-damaged and expected to be impassable for days. The rail lines owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. and the Canadian National Railway Co. run along the Fraser River, which went over its banks and cut off roads, bridges, and tracks in this week’s heavy rain and flooding.

CP’s tracks between Spence’s Bridge and Falls Creek are blocked as a result of flood damage in several sections, said Salem Woodrow, a CP spokesperson. The washouts have halted freight on CP’s busiest rail corridor, which links Vancouver’s port with shippers of grain, consumer goods, and other products.

“There is no time estimate for when service will resume. CP has deployed crews and equipment to the region, and CP engineering teams are working to repair the damaged rail corridor as quickly as possible where safe to do so,” Woodrow said.

Mathieu Gaudreault, a CN spokesperson, said crews are making progress on repairing the railway, but he declined to estimate when the tracks would open.

“Traffic through southern B.C., northbound and eastbound traffic from Vancouver, as well as inbound traffic to Vancouver from east/north of Kamloops are still affected by the situation,” Mr. Gaudreault said.

Work to repair the washed-out tracks is being slowed by three sinkholes that have formed beneath CN’s railway tracks.