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 Transit.
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).
Retain ownership, maintain and manage the 40-km Port Subdivision rail line and the Roberts Bank rail yard, which provide the sole rail connection for CN, CPKC and BNSF trains to access the Delta port Container Terminal (the largest container terminal in Canada) and the Westshore Coal Terminal (the largest export coal terminal on the west coast of North America). This infrastructure plays a vital role in supporting British Columbia’s and Canada’s economies by facilitating the uninterrupted movement of goods through these major terminals. BCRC does not operate its own trains, but functions similar to an airport authority, maintaining the shared infrastructure and controlling the multi-user traffic. BCRC directs and coordinates all CN, CPKC and BNSF train traffic, to ensure fair and equal access on this critical rail link. BCRC responsibilities include inspecting and maintaining the track, dispatching all CN, CPKC and BNSF train traffic (over 6,000 trains per year) and overseeing rail yard and terminal switching activities, as well as managing the railway’s ongoing capital renewal and capacity expansion projects.
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.