Okanagan Rail Trail
Okanagan municipalities ink rail corridor deal, now what will they do with it?
VERNON - A team of local governments has reached a multi-million deal with CN Rail to purchase nearly 50 km of discontinued track between Vernon and Kelowna, but just how the land will be used remains unknown. Doug Gilchrist, the City of Kelowna’s community planning and real estate director, says the group of municipalities are...
Okanagan rail trail dream on track
"I THINK WE'RE ALL IN AGREEMENT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, THERE WILL BE A COMMUNITY PATHWAY" VERNON - Brad Clements remembers sitting around his kitchen table over a year ago, discussing the odds of a rail trail on the decommissioned track between Vernon and Kelowna becoming a reality. “We thought it was only a 20...
VIDEO: What an Okanagan Rail Trail could look like
VERNON - A new video showcases the merits of converting the rail bed between Vernon and Kelowna into a multi-purpose trail. The 50 km stretch runs along Kalamalka Lake, Wood Lake and Duck Lake and past 22 parks. Canadian National has begun the process of selling off the line, whose former operator Kelowna Pacific Railway...
Kelowna chamber to press government on Okanagan corridor
VERNON - Another force is joining the fight to preserve the railway between Vernon and Kelowna for public use. The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce has passed a motion to encourage federal, provincial and municipal governments to preserve the railway in a way that benefits the Okanagan. “The concept of a public access use of the...
Chamber of Commerce on board for an Okanagan rail trail
VERNON – The push for an Okanagan rail trail is picking up steam. The Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce has joined the movement to preserve the rail bed between Vernon and Kelowna as a recreational corridor. The chamber unanimously passed a motion to call on all levels of government to take a leadership role in...
Rail trail a good, but expensive, idea: MP
VERNON - Federal, provincial and municipal governments are discussing the fate of the Okanagan rail corridor. Colin Mayes, Okanagan-Shuswap MP, says there was a meeting of elected representatives at the federal, provincial and municipal levels about the possibility of preserving the land for use as a recreational corridor. “I feel the corridor is very important...
CN offers Okanagan railway to federal government
VERNON - Time has run out for interested parties to resume service on the section of rail between Vernon and Kelowna. Monday was the deadline for companies negotiating with Canadian National to buy the line, and CN spokesperson Warren Chandler says no deal was reached. “The time period has elapsed, now the 30-day window to...