Another vital reminder of the significant role railways played in St. Thomas and Elgin county appears set to vanish in the not-to-distant future.
CN has filed notice it is putting its Cayuga Subdivision – that stretch of track east from St. Thomas to Tillsonburg and Delhi – up for sale at the end of the month.
Until recently the Ontario Southland Railway – which leased the line from CN starting in 2013 – had been operating limited service over the Cayuga Sub.
But the OSR, likewise, has filed notice it will discontinue service on the line as of the end of this month.
There are few customers on the line, however, the ethanol plant in Aylmer will now have to rely solely on trucks.
The OSR will continue to run a service into St. Thomas along the 32-mile CP St. Thomas Subdivision to Woodstock. Customers in the city include Messenger Freight and Factor Gas and the OSR will serve the Element 5 plant now under construction in the city’s industrial park.
In a release, CN indicated “it has reviewed the volumes of traffic moving on this Line and based on traffic volumes and needed investments, decided not to resume operations and proceed with the discontinuance process.”
The next step is to advertise the line is for sale for any parties wishing to continue operating a service. If there are no offers, CN w