The British Columbia Railway Company (BCRC) is a self-supporting commercial crown corporation, incorporated and continued under the British Columbia Railway Act.
It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
the BC Transportation Financing Authority under the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
The freight railway operations of the historic BC Rail line (from North Vancouver to Fort Nelson) were divested to CN in 2004, but the British Columbia Railway Company (and its operating subsidiary, BCR Properties Ltd.) still continue as active corporations, holding and managing about $500 million of provincial real estate, railway and port/marine assets.
BCRC receives no public funding from the Province. All of its revenues are derived from fees, rental and lease payments from its private-sector tenants (railways, marine terminal operators and industrial tenants). Through the commercial management of its assets, BCRC recovers all of its expenses from these private-sector businesses and over the past decade, on average, has contributed over $12 million per year in net income to the Province.
BCRC’s primary mandate is to acquire, hold and manage railway corridor and strategic port/industrial lands and to make related infrastructure investments to provide benefits to the Province, including:
Manage and administer the long-term operating lease agreements for BCRC-owned rail and port assets, including the BC Rail-CN Revitalization Agreement (the former BC Rail line), the Vancouver Wharves marine terminal in North Vancouver and Squamish Terminals (the break-bulk marine terminal located at the northern tip of Howe Sound).
Manage the balance of its real estate portfolio (industrial land holdings throughout BC) on a commercial basis to maximize financial returns to the Province.
In the past 20 years, since the 2004 freight railway divestiture to CN, through the management of its other real estate, railway and port assets, BCRC has generated over $450 million in revenues, has contributed over $250 million net income to the Province and has provided $225 million in cash dividends to the Province.
BCRC operates with about 30 staff, which includes: railway operations and maintenance supervisors located at the Roberts Bank yard office, dedicated to the 24x7x365 management of the Roberts Bank rail link; and corporate real estate, finance and administration staff based out of the North Vancouver office.