About Us
Great Western Railway
Nestled in the rolling hills and prairies of southwest Saskatchewan, GWR consists of former CPKC trackage that was slated for abandonment. Acquired by local producers in 2004, we have remained locally owned by a diverse group of producers, ranchers, agricultural businesses and communities along our line.
We proudly serve shippers in the Southwest including agriculture and energy. Our primary objective is to facilitate a competitive and alternative way for producers to get their products to market. We also provide an important alternative access to international markets.
Short lines provide supply chain connectivity, create employment, and enable regional economic competitiveness.
One in five car loads originating on Canadian railways originates on a short-line.
Our History
Our History
Great Western Railway found it’s humble beginnings through the support of the local community. We were founded by people that fought to keep the railway open, and are deeply rooted in their lives & in agriculture.
In the last two decades, both the Canadian National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway had divested themselves of thousands of miles of track over the Canadian prairies in favor of establishing huge grain terminals on their mainlines. This, along with the removal of the Crow Rate, which reduced the cost of shipping the grain to the world market, made it more economical for producers to ship their grain through the larger mainline terminals. These developments led to a decreased volume of cars moving via Railway, and contributed to the decision for CP Rail to abandon Great Western Railway’s portion of track in Southwest Saskatchewan.
2000 - January
2000 - June
An agreement had been made between the two parties for the purchase of the 4 subdivisions, Notukeu Subdivision from Val Marie to Consul; Altawan Subdivision from Consul to Shaunavon; Shaunavon Subdivision from Shaunavon to Limerick; and the Vanguard Subdivision north from Meyronne to Wymark.
The initial business plan was based on 4,000 cars shipped annually, working with local producers and grain companies to restore viability to the grain dependent rail line. Moving 4,000 cars per year by rail is equivalent to 10,000 fully loaded B-trains or 30,000 fully loaded axle trucks that would not be traveling on our secondary highways and municipal roads.
2000 - August
2000 - September
2004
2017
Fife Lake Railroad
2018
We introduced our own mobile transloading service which has allowed us to increase our inbound fertilizer supply, where we have grown shipments from just a few carloads per year to over two hundred last year. Our railcar storage service has space availability for 2500 cars. While shipping grain and Ag related products will be at the core of our business, this thriving storage revenue stream provides great support to ensure the organization remains strong in even the toughest of shipping seasons, just as we have seen in the past couple years.
We acquired the buildings and 5 acres of land within the CPKC Assiniboia rail yard to allow us to expand our operation, including our current double-bay locomotive shop facility.
We introduced Great Western Commodities, our new co-ordination, purchasing and marketing division, in order to drive more grain freight to the rail and reduce the time and expense for producers to truck the many miles to the CPKC main line. This helped grow our grain freight by over 90% in the two years following. The key role of Great Western Commodities is to bring producers, shipper and buyers together, and to help look after the coordination from farm to port. We are also able to buy the grain directly from producers on occasion to help bring these opportunities together.
2020
Today
Great Western Railway Ltd. ships grain, fertilizer, feed & frac sand, as well as running a thriving storage car business. Besides servicing our own lines, (GWR and FLR), we also service the Red Coat Road & Rail.
Over it all, we have remained committed to supporting local communities and producers along our line, striving to maintain competitive rates for facilitating a thriving economy in the southwest.
Gallery
We Are Hiring!
GWR is poised for growth across various industries and needs team-oriented candidates to support our future.