A project that would repair the damage from a catastrophic collapse at a Canadian cement factory may cost more than $40 million and take decades to complete.
The Canadian National Railway (CNRL) and construction equipment manufacturer Enerco have been working on a new reconstruction plan for the CS-75, which collapsed in December 2015 at the Port of Toronto.
The collapse of the CS 75, a steel pipe railway, killed more than 1,400 people and injured another 1,200, according to the Canadian government.
The CNRL is responsible for fixing the train.
The company’s board of directors said last year it would be “incredibly difficult” to restore the CS75, adding it would cost more money than any other project on the CNRL’s books.
Enerco is the third largest construction equipment company in Canada, and the third-largest by sales, according the company’s annual report.
But the company has been plagued by safety issues and the recent death of a man who was on the train with the train’s operator.
In May, the CNRC suspended work on the new plan and delayed the delivery of the railway’s next shipment of cement, according a CNRL news release.
EnerCo’s board has until the end of the year to address the safety issues raised by the derailment.
The project would also cost more to complete than the CNRA’s original proposal for a complete rebuild of the railroad, according an CNRL statement.
The CNRL said it had identified several other possible solutions to the problem, including replacing the CS70 train with a new one that has a better track record and has greater automation.
In November, CNRL CEO Jim Rennie announced the company was looking at possible alternate routes that would bring the train to its next destination at a later date, and that the company would consult with other railroads and transit authorities to determine whether the railroads would be interested in taking over the project.
But the CNTR’s latest proposal does not call for the railway to be dismantled and replaced, and EnerCO’s board said the railway would remain in operation until the CNRR was able to complete the repairs to the CS 70.
The proposed reconstruction plan would require a total of $8.2 billion in new construction costs, and $2.4 billion in financing costs, according EnerCoe’s annual reports.
It also calls for the purchase of a new line of track to run between Port of Montreal and the Port Lands.
The board said a third option was to replace the CS65 with a replacement CS 70 with greater automation and increased speed.
ElerCoe is asking the CNRB for $1.2-billion in capital grants to fund the reconstruction project.
It has until Sept. 29 to respond.
The project is the latest in a series of safety and engineering problems that have plagued the CN Rail line since the collapse of its train in November 2015.
The railway is operated by the Canada Transportation Agency, which has ordered repairs to more than 150 bridges and over 20 tunnels and is working on upgrading about 70 bridges.