Great Sandhills Railway

The Great Sandhills Railway (reporting mark GSR) is a Canadian short line railway company that operates 198 kilometres (123 mi) of track west of Swift Current, Saskatchewan in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Great Sandhills Railway
Great Sandhills Railway
Overview
Parent companyRegional Rail, LLC
HeadquartersLeader, Saskatchewan
Reporting markGSR
LocaleSaskatchewan, Alberta, Canada
Dates of operation2009 (2009)–Present
PredecessorCanadian Pacific Railway
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length198 kilometres (123 mi)
Other
Websitewww.gsrail.net
Great Sandhills Railway
Empress Subdivision
0.0
Mayne
junction with CPR
Maple Creek Sub
7.1
Cantuar
9.2
hot box detector
13.9
Success
22.5
Pennant
23.6
Wickett
junction with
Hazlet Spur
26.7
Battrum
30.1
Grant
34.9
Cabri
42.9
Shackleton
51.0
Abbey
57.8
Lancer
61.6
hot box detector
64.2
Portreeve
75.8
Sceptre
82.1
Prelate
87.0
Leader East
88.2
Leader
junction with
Burstall Sub
89.3
end of track
Hazlet Spur
0.0
Wickett
junction with
Empress Sub
(
mile
23.6
)
5.0
end of track
Burstall Subdivision
0.0
Leader
junction with
Empress Sub
(
mile
88.2
)
1.0
Leader South
13.8
hot box detector
24.9
Burstall
26.0
junction with
McNeill Spur
27.0
end of track
McNeill Spur
0.0
junction with
Burstall Sub
(
mile
26.0
)
McNeill
5.4
end of track

The railway began operations on March 14, 2009.[1] Great Sandhills Railway owns and operates on former Canadian Pacific Railway's Empress Subdivision, Burstall Subdivision and Hazlet Spur (collectively known as the "Empress Short Line"). Great Sandhills Railway also operates on the McNeil Spur, but this track is owned by a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Sandhills Terminal.[2] The purchase price for the Empress Short Line and the McNeil spur was $6.3 million, with $1,907,200 funded by a provincial loan under the Short Line Financial Assistance Program. At startup, the Great Sandhills Terminal was the major shareholder while other shareholders included local producers and businesses.[1][3]

The railway serves freight stations in Burstall, Mendham, Leader, Prelate, Sceptre, Portreeve, Lancer, Abbey, Cabri, Battrum, Pennant, Success, Cantuar, and Swift Current. It interchanges with both the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Great Western Railway in Swift Current, via running rights on CP's Maple Creek Subdivision between Mayne and Swift Current.[4]

The railway hauls grain from terminals, elevators and producer loading sites, and also moves products from the Empress Gas plants in Alberta.[1]

In November 2022, G3 Canada sold the railroad to 3i Group's Regional Rail, LLC.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Short-line rail company hauls first grain shipment". The Western Producer. 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  2. ^ "What's Happening - Archives". Great Sandhills Terminal Marketing Centre Ltd. 2008-07-16. Archived from the original on 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  3. ^ "08-09 ANNUAL REPORT, MINISTRY OF HIGHWAYS AND INFRASTRUCTURE" (PDF). PROVINCE OF SASKATCHEWAN. Retrieved 2015-11-04.
  4. ^ Saskatchewan Railway Information
  5. ^ "Regional Rail expands into Canada with acquisition of short-line rail portfolio" (PDF; 89 kB). gsrail.net. 3i Group; Great Sandhills Railway. 2022-11-11. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
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