Western Forest Products uses the Englewood Railway to transport logs. (Yvonne Laviolette. Courtesy of CBC)
After 100 years of transporting logs by train on northern Vancouver Island, Western Forest Products is shutting down the Englewood line.
In a release, the company said it was closing the line for financial reasons. The logs will now be sent to company mills and customers by truck.
According to Western Forest Products, 34 jobs will be lost in Woss, which is about 75 kilometres southeast of Port McNeill, B.C.
However, the company also said fewer than 15 people are expected to be without jobs following negotiations to transition employees to other positions within the company.
In April, three workers died and two were injured after a train hit a maintenance car and work crew on the tracks at Woss.
Western Forest Products said it will work with communities and governments in northern Vancouver Island to determine how to honour the train’s long history. The train dates back to 1917.
Logs spill onto the Englewood Railway track in Woss in April 2017.
CHEK News
