The proposed Canadian National (CN) crude transload facility that had been proposed for the town of Carlyle appears to be on hold for the time being.
The controversial project had initially been revealed to Carlyle town council through the office of the Chief Administrator, Huguette Lutz, in autumn of last year.
The plan was to establish a facility which would serve as an on-load site for train oil-cars, a system that has been referred to as 'a pipeline on rails.'
However, with the heavy truck traffic the facility would be likely to bring, as well as the safety concerns for the broader community, and the close proximity of the proposed facility to the two schools in Carlyle, council sent a 'no' to CN in response to the project proposal.
While council considered the matter closed, no formal response had been received by the town from CN.
The fact that came up at a council meeting when a delegation of concerned parents and citizens, made up of the School Community Councils (SCC) for both Gordon F. Kells High School and Carlyle Elementary School, attended to express their concern.
In the course of the meeting, the town was asked to contact CN, and get a clear explanation on where CN stood in relation to the project, and whether further action should be taken to block the project.
The town promised to contact CN to see where the project stands, and to entertain further plans about how to block the project should it proceed.
The question of further steps to prevent the project from moving ahead seem moot however, with the response from CN to the town's inquiry stating that the project will not be moving ahead at this time.
With the project now suspended, the concerns of council, local community groups, parents, and citizens appear to have had their desired effect in cooling CN on the transload facility within town.
