CN Rail warns of 'catastrophic impacts' as it seeks anti-flood barrier in Jasper park

Darryl Greer · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 12:38 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

CN Rail warns flooding could person "catastrophic impacts" connected cross-country services successful ineligible enactment it has filed to unit Parks Canada to see a protective obstruction for its main enactment done Jasper National Park.

Canadian National Railway Co. says successful a Federal Court exertion that Parks Canada has wrongfully held up the enactment for astir 8 years by refusing to let proposals to acquisition biology interaction assessment.

The railway says Parks Canada is opposed to a connection to usage gravel dredged from the stream to conception an anti-flooding berm.

'Significant destruction'

The exertion filed past period says a information of its main enactment that connects B.C. ports with the remainder of the state is endangered by the hazard that the Snake Indian River successful the parkland volition rapidly alteration course, successful a improvement known arsenic avulsion.

"CN's autarkic experts person concluded that the stream adjacent to the CN main enactment is astatine impending and inevitable hazard of a abrupt and unpredictable avulsion successful which the stream volition overtop its banks, rapidly wantonness its existing transmission and signifier a caller stream transmission flowing straight downhill toward the main line," the exertion says.

"An avulsion would person catastrophic impacts."

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The railway institution says specified an lawsuit could origin "significant destruction" of its main obstruction line, "long-term cessation" of east-west obstruction service, and a imaginable "catastrophic bid derailment."

It says the main enactment is captious infrastructure for the Canadian economy.

The institution declined to remark connected the ineligible action, and Parks Canada did not supply remark connected the company's claims by property time.

Ice jams, outpouring flood

CN's exertion says the stream overtopped its banks successful 2016 owed to wintertime crystal jams, which required "extensive exigency effect measures successful unsafe wintertime conditions" to support obstruction infrastructure.

It says galore studies person warned the stream is astatine precocious hazard of flooding successful wintertime and summer, posing "a existent and imminent hazard to CN's main line."

CN's exertion says fixing the enactment if the stream spills its banks would necessitate enactment of "unknown scope and duration."

The company, the exertion says, has been moving connected proposals for semipermanent flood prevention since 2017, but Parks Canada has allegedly held up an interaction appraisal for astir 8 years.

"During that time, Parks Canada has repeatedly issued caller and evolving guidance astir however it conducts interaction assessments," the exertion says.

"CN's proposals person been repeatedly rebuffed by Parks Canada."

CN says it presented its latest connection to the bureau successful January 2024, with 2 options for the operation of a "flood containment berm," 1 utilizing worldly brought from extracurricular the park, and the different with gravel dredged from the stream bed.

The 2nd option, the exertion says, would person the further effect of deepening the river, allowing the berm to beryllium "significantly smaller successful size and person little of an interaction connected the adjacent habitat."

Parks Canada concerned over materials, dredging

Parks Canada has indicated successful the past that it supports operation of a berm, according to a missive cited successful CN's application, but is opposed to utilizing materials from wrong the park.

CN estimated successful 2020 that bringing successful gravel and different worldly by motortruck and bid would instrumentality 2 years connected an "optimistic schedule," requiring astir 2,000 truckloads and much than 1,200 afloat obstruction cars.

"If the worldly was transported by motortruck alone, it would necessitate implicit 200 days of trucking and astir 4,000 motortruck trips," the exertion says.

Parks Canada rejected the thought of dredging the river, CN says, due to the fact that the connection "does not conform with the regulatory and argumentation intent for a declared wilderness country successful Jasper National Park."

The railway's exertion seeks to overturn Parks Canada's determination denying its bid for an interaction assessment.

"CN inactive does not cognize precisely what is required successful bid to beforehand its connection to interaction assessment, contempt having provided acold much accusation and item than is required anterior to an interaction assessment," the exertion says.