Okanagan Rail Trail
What to do with 100,000 metres of steel rail, ties and a grafitti-covered boxcar
KELOWNA - Now that the CN Rail corridor purchase is complete, there’s the small matter of removing about 100 kilometres worth of steel rail, railway ties, flashing lights and signs, and some contaminated soil sites. Oh, and one graffiti covered boxcar. Fortunately for the Okanagan communities that just ponied up $50 million in cash and...
Injunction fails, Okanagan Rail Trail land purchase goes ahead
KELOWNA - The last real hurdle to the purchase of the CN Rail corridor purchase was removed this morning in B.C. Supreme Court where an injunction sought by the Okanagan Indian Band blocking the sale was denied. “With no injunction in place CN is within its right to sell the corridor lands,” City of Kelowna...
Okanagan Indian Band to continue fight for Commonage Reserve lands
VERNON - After fighting for title rights to the Commonage Reserve in Vernon for over 100 years, the Okanagan Indian Band says an unfavourable court ruling does not mark the end of the battle. “We’re not going away,” Chief Byron Louis says. “We haven’t given up on it for the last 133 years, I’d be...
Okanagan Indian Band embraces Lake Country mayor’s support for land claim
VERNON - Lake Country Mayor James Baker appears to have thrown his support behind the Okanagan Indian Band’s land claim to the Commonage Reserve including the portion which includes the CP Rail line intended for the Okanagan Rail Trail, and the band intends to hold him to his words. Chief Byron Louis says he welcomes...
Next steps for an Okanagan Rail Trail; public consultation, planning, and waiting
OKANAGAN - Money is no longer an issue for a group of Okanagan municipalities preparing to purchase an abandoned rail corridor, but it could still be some time — years even — before residents set foot on a community pathway. With Saturday’s referendum resulting in a resounding yes vote to borrow $2.6-million for the District of...
Yes side claims resounding victory in rail trail referendum
LAKE COUNTRY - With a voter turnout that puts other elections to shame, about 75 per cent Lake Country voters showed their support for the CN Rail corridor purchase with a resounding yes vote. In a media release from the district, chief election officer Reyna Seabrook says 4,4462 or 47.9 per cent of eligible voters...
Okanagan rail corridor proponents pledge $5 million for community trail
VERNON - A citizens group has committed to raising $5 million to build a rail trail from Vernon to Kelowna if local municipalities secure the land. Brad Clements of the Okanagan Rail Trail Initiative says several community members have already expressed interest in making donations toward the creation of the trail. “People say, 'Let us...
Province pledges $7.2M for CN Rail corridor purchase
KELOWNA - There are some strings attached, but the provincial government is pledging $7.2 million to help make the purchase of the CN Rail corridor a reality. The money is conditional on a successful referendum in Lake Country later this month, according to a press release from the province Tuesday, April 7. “We believe in the...
Provincial support for Okanagan rail trail may sway voters, but not Okanagan Indian Band
VERNON - While a recent funding announcement from the provincial government may entice some Lake Country voters towards a yes vote in an upcoming borrowing referendum, the Okanagan Indian Band is warning governments not to celebrate just yet. Premier Christy Clark announced a $7.2 million pledge for the acquisition of the Okanagan Rail corridor the...
Lake Country referendum could prove pivotal in closing CN Rail corridor deal
KELOWNA - The provincial government recently pledged more than $7 million for the CN Rail corridor purchase but it does nothing to solve Lake Country’s shortfall of $2.6 million. It may also have created a new problem — voter apathy in Lake Country where a yes vote for the purchase is still critical to the deal...
Rail corridor in doubt as Okanagan Indian Band takes land claim to court
VERNON - The Okanagan Indian Band is filing a notice of claim in B.C. Supreme Court, asserting aboriginal title to a portion of the discontinued CN rail corridor between Lake Country and Vernon. It’s part of the same rail corridor local municipalities are working towards purchasing for conversion into a trail, but Okanagan Indian Band...
NEWSMAKERS 2014: Okanagan rail corridor makes history
THIS WEEK, INFONEWS.CA IS COUNTING DOWN THE TOP FIVE STORIES OF THE YEAR. TODAY: NUMBER TWO VERNON - This year, Okanagan municipalities made history by signing a deal with the Canadian National Railway to buy a nearly 50-kilometer long corridor between Vernon and Kelowna. The scenic stretch of land came available after the Kelowna Pacific...
NEWSMAKERS 2014: Okanagan rail corridor makes history
THIS WEEK, INFONEWS.CA IS COUNTING DOWN THE TOP FIVE STORIES OF 2014. TODAY: NUMBER FIVE KELOWNA - Okanagan municipalities making history by signing a deal with the Canadian National Railway to buy a nearly 50-kilometer long corridor between Vernon and Kelowna. The scenic stretch of land came available after the Kelowna Pacific Railway announced bankruptcy...
Splatsin First Nation acquires portion of rail corridor
ENDERBY - There’s been a significant advancement on the discontinued rail corridor between Armstrong and Sicamous. Following lengthy negotiations with Canadian Pacific Rail and the federal government, the Splatsin First Nation has acquired 29.25 acres of land along the old rail corridor, which was shut down in 2009. Splatsin Chief Wayne ‘Wunuxtin’ Christian says the...
Okanagan Indian Band opposes rail corridor sale
BUYER BEWARE: BAND SAYS NO CLEAR TITLE ON RAIL CORRIDOR VERNON - The Okanagan Indian Band is speaking out against a recent deal between Okanagan municipalities and CN Rail to buy the decomissioned rail line between Vernon and Kelowna. Chief Byron Louis said Tuesday the band is advancing a land claim for the Commonage Reserve,...