ManitobaAn interim report into Winnipeg rail relocation recommends a short abandoned track in the Brooklands neighbourhood as a potential place to start.Recommendations also include commission of feasibility studies into consolidating larger yardsBartley Kives · CBC News · Posted: Nov 11, 2025 7:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.An interim Winnipeg rail relocation study recommends the commission of studies to look at the feasinbility of consolidating yards such as the Canadian Pacific Kansas City yards bordering the North End. (Jaison Empson/CBC)An interim report into Winnipeg rail relocation recommends a short abandoned track in the Brooklands neighbourhood as a potential place to start.A 21-page report published by the province on Oct. 21 identifies a four-kilometre stretch of unused rail line in the Brooklands neighbourhood as a track that could be redeveloped into a green space.A consultant hired to design the redevelopment, described in the report as the Westlands Project, will present recommendations to the province in December, the report states.This modest project is the first concrete suggestion emanating from the rail-relocation study, which is looking at the feasibility of whittling back Winnipeg’s 240 kilometres of rail lines in the hopes of creating more housing, stimulating economic development and removing barriers between neighbourhoods.The study, headed up by former federal Liberal cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy, is also looking at the idea of reconfiguring Winnipeg’s rail infrastructure in order to make incremental changes.The interim report also briefly mentions the three-kilometre Burlington Northern Santa Fe line in River Heights — which remains an active line — as a potential for relocation.The report does not mention efforts by JohnQ Public, a company owned by 12 Manitoba municipalities, to develop a rail port in the R.M. of Ritchot with Burlington Northern Santa Fe as an anchor tenant.The interim report recommends exploring the consolidation of the 200-hectare (465-acre) Canadian Pacific Kansas City railyard that divides the North End from the inner city, following Canadian Pacific’s merger with Kansas City Southern in 2023.The report states the rail relocation study must conduct financial and technical analyses of a phased-in relocation of what’s now called the CPKC Yards as well as CN’s 321-hectare (793-acre) Symington Yards in St. Boniface, along with “phased implementation plans that maintain operational continuity while progressively reducing impacts on residential and commercial areas.”This work has not started in earnest. To date, the study has set up an advisory board, started consultations with the rail industry and government and has planned a series of public engagement sessions.The province set aside $200,000 in 2024 to begin the study. Neither Axworthy nor the Kinew government responded to requests for comment prior to publication.
Winnipeg rail relocation report identifies short abandoned spur as potential starting point
