NANAIMO TRAIN STATION FIRE UPDATE

NANAIMO E&N TRAIN STATION FIRE IS ARSON

The fire which caused serious damage to the historic Nanaimo railway station has been labeled arson by local officials, and the RCMP are now engaged in a criminal investigation.

A spokesman for Island Corridor Foundation said he was uncertain if the building was insured against such loss. The Foundation assumed control of the station from Via rail some time ago.

Earlier this month I reported on this blog, the run down state of this station, to the extent that weeds were even overgrowing the sidewalk. It simply appeared to be an open, but abandoned building.

In my opinion, it would not have taken anymore than a week of good old elbow grease, many gallons of paint, and the old station could have been spruced up considerably.

I think it rather odd, that a foundation responsible for running a railroad, would not have adopted a policy whereby all of it's assets would be properly insured.

As I asked earlier 'is this anyway to run a railroad?'. If you are wondering what I mean, try and find out when the train runs, how much a ticket costs and where you are to catch a train now that the station is being fenced off.

Perhaps this particular rail line, is just a dinosaur whose only real value lies in the property it controls, and not the rail service it provides. No one seems to be able to make it a viable operation. Frankly, there is no real effort to attempt to get more people using the service.