TISDALE, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA — With increased and more efficient export options for agricultural producers in Saskatchewan and Western Canada in mind, Invest Tisdale and Arctic Gateway Group LP (AGG) have signed a memorandum of understanding intent on restoring and promoting two-way rail traffic between Tisdale, Saskatchewan, and Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, on Hudson Bay.

The MOU signed by Invest Tisdale and AGG focuses on a range of economic development projects that leverage the Tisdale Rail Subdivision for import and export activities between Tisdale and Churchill through the Hudson Bay Railway, including:

  • Over the next five years, both parties will work collaboratively to ultimately restore two-way rail traffic between Churchill and Tisdale. This includes working with the existing owner of the rail line to assess the cost involved with revitalizing the Tisdale Rail Subdivision.
  • Building strong business-to-business relationships to ensure the success of the initiative, including strategies to attract new businesses and capital to the region as well as increasing communication between AGG and local businesses.

“We have been advocating for direct rail service to Churchill since 1995 and for the restoration of grain service since 2015,” said Reeve Ian Allan of the rural municipality of Tisdale. “The Arctic Port terminal is essential and is ours to lose. We need to take action now, building business-to-business relationships with the ownership group at Arctic Gateway and their vision to see Canada’s Arctic Trade Corridor finally thrive.”

Arctic Gateway Group is a limited partnership that owns and operates the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway, which connects The Pas to Churchill, Manitoba.

Invest Tisdale said it supports the Arctic Gateway Group’s call for enhanced infrastructure options in Canada and this significant opportunity with the Port of Churchill to provide more options to connect to various ports. Recent work undertaken by AGG is showing the Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay Railway are again a viable and efficient way to increase import and export trade with global markets through an Arctic Trade Corridor.

With the support of the governments of Canada and Manitoba, AGG has replaced hundreds of thousands of rail ties along the Hudson Bay Railway, rebuilt bridges, improved the operational reliability and cut rail travel times by 2.5 hours. These investments have been instrumental in securing important contracts and ensuring the stability and reliability of freight and passenger services, the AGG said.

“The Port of Churchill can offer Saskatchewan grain farmers and other businesses major cost savings with a shorter and more direct route to world export markets, as well as for imports of key products such as fertilizers,” said Chris Avery, chief executive officer of the Arctic Gateway Group. “By reconnecting Tisdale to the Hudson Bay Railway, we can help grow the economy in Saskatchewan and offer greater supply chain optionality to lessen the impact of strikes and other forms of trade disruption that we’ve seen this year.”