Canadian Pacific Kansas City | Cascadia Rail Expansion Phase 4

March 25, 2022

Project status
Permit amendment issued

In August 2023, amendment PER No. 20-095-01 was issued to Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), formerly Canadian Pacific or CP Railway. The amendment approved additional scope related to the approved habitat offsetting (see below) located along the south shore of Burrard Inlet east of Berry Point, in Burnaby BC. This area is on federal lands and waters managed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

About the amendment: CPKC requested an amendment to install up to ten open ended steel piles between 24 inches and 36 inches in diameter, along the northern extent of the Berry Point offsetting area. The piles will be used to affix a silt curtain for turbidity mitigation during construction and provide mooring points for material scows, the marine derrick, and other vessels. The piles will be removed after approximately four months. The pile installation and removal will be completed within the least risk window for fish in the Burrard Inlet and with vibratory hammer to the extent possible.

Permit issued

On August 22, 2022, a project permit was issued to CPKC to extend their existing rail track leading to the Cascadia Terminal. The project is located along the south shore of Burrard Inlet, between Second Narrows and Shellburn Terminal, in Burnaby, BC and is on federal lands and waters managed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

The project was approved subject to 44 permit conditions applicant must meet to ensure the project does not result in significant adverse environmental effects.

For work hour variances and construction updates, please visit the permit holder’s website (cpkcr.com/en/community/rail-projects-near-you?).

About the project

CPKC will extend their existing rail track leading to the Cascadia Terminal, Vancouver. The extended service track will run along the south shore of Burrard Inlet between Second Narrows and Berry Point in Burnaby. The project will increase the length of the existing third track by approximately 1,500 meters and allow for assembly of 2,600 meter trains clear of the mainline track, reducing delays for other trains serving freight and passengers in Vancouver.

To extend the track, CPKC will widen the existing rail bed by placing clean, engineered fill material in the riparian area and marine environment. The extension of the rail track is to be situated within the CPKC right-of-way. The works extending beyond the right-of-way and into port authority jurisdiction include the reconfiguration of existing tracks associated with the Chevron Parkland Refinery, the widening of sections of the embankment, the construction of a riprap toe, the extension of existing culverts through the embankment, and the construction of fish habitat offsetting features to the east of Berry Point.

Both marine and land based access for construction is planned. Marine access is anticipated to involve the use of two barges. To accommodate activities that may be conducted at appropriate tides in sufficiently dry working conditions, certain works may be conducted outside the port authority’s standard work hours of Monday to Saturday between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Construction is anticipated to begin in October 2022 and complete by April 2024.

Resources

Contact information
For more information about Applicant’s proposed project, and updates on work hour variances, please visit their website (cpkcr.com/en/community/rail-projects-near-you?), or contact Joe Walker by email or phone at 604.669.0424.

For questions regarding the Project and Environmental Review of the proposed project, or to get in touch with our team, please contact us by email or phone at 604.665.9047.

Please note, when receiving public feedback as part of the PER process, the port authority may collect your personal information, i.e., your name, contact information and personal views and opinions, to inform the PER process for a proposed project. Your personal information may be disclosed to third parties, such as our tenants, in order for them to respond directly to you or help inform our response. You are entitled to submit a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner office. You are entitled to submit a complaint to the Privacy Commissioner office here.