Feasibility study for Ring Road rail line given green light

Regina city council is starting to move forward with a feasibility study to find a solution to trains blocking traffic on the Ring Road.

Mayor Michael Fougere described the first step as a “pre-feasibility study” for city administration to look at options for an overpass, underpass or moving the rail lines altogether.

Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve the mayor’s motion.

City administration will report back at the end of April with its findings.

“From there we will decide the steps in terms of a feasibility study and the cost of doing the feasibility study and the design work from there,” Fougere said.

Fougere cautioned it will be a multi-step process to find a remedy to the problem of trains blocking traffic daily on one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares.

He added the city wants to make sure the federal and provincial governments would be on board to help with funding such a large-scale project.

While there have been studies done on the issue in the past, Fougere noted those date back to the 80s and 90s and only focused on relocating the rail lines.

“What we’re trying to do now is to find out what is the most feasible way to end the frustration and the conflict between trains and traffic,” Fougere said.

“We’ve had lots of accidents that have happened or near-accidents that have happened. What’s the best way to alleviate that frustration?”

He said he can understand drivers’ frustration with nine trains passing through the city each day on one rail line, plus six more on another.