Locals familiar with the tourist attraction, which draws in more than 40,000 tourists each year, say that rafting companies have used the loading area between the railroad tracks and river for decades without any issues or accidents.
Global News Canada reports that Canadian Pacific has now told six rafting companies that they can no longer use the loading area.
“These companies will not be allowed to trespass on CP property to access the Kicking Horse River,” a CP representative wrote in a letter.
According to the article, CP’s most recent decision follows a visit from a Transport Canada safety inspector who spotted too many people and supplies being moved across the tracks. The article says that the transportation regulators then asked the Class I railroad to come up with a solution to the problem.
For months, the railroad and more than a half a dozen rafting companies discussed the possibility of installing a railroad crossing at the loading site at the expense of the rafting companies, but after a recent meeting with CP, that deal is off the table.
The railroad says that after investigating the area, the curvature and sightlines of the location in question would make it impossible to install a grade crossing safely.
“CP understands the frustration that the community may have regarding this issue. CP had attempted to find a solution that would allow rafters to cross safely and legally, but unfortunately there is no solution that meet CP’s legal, risk and regulatory requirements,” the railroad says in a statement.
Since the railroad’s latest statement, rafting companies and local advocates for tourism are still seeking for a compromise, saying that the most recent decision could impact the rafting industry and the local economy with the upcoming 2016 rafting season.
The rail line in question is located on Canadian Pacific’s Mountain Subdivision near Golden, B.C.
