Improve Transportation Logistics, Improve the Northern Economy

Choo...Choo...Choose Your Local Producers

Rail in Northern Alberta // Photography by Andrew O’Rourke

It’s easy to tune out the distant rumble of a freight train, but that “chugga chugga” is heartbeat of our economy. When our fraight trains don’t run on time—or fail to show up for days or weeks—we feel it at our kitchen tables, at our checkout counters and in our local businesses.

Since the 1960s, rail has connected Northern Alberta to global markets. It is how our farmers export grain, how foresters sell wood products and how the energy sector supplies NWT. Simply put, our regional economy lives or dies on the back of a freight car.

“We have the furthest-north, connected rail line in North America,” said REDI Board Chair and Mackenzie County Councillor Lisa Wardley. “But, we have critical bottlenecks that stifle our ability to compete globally. We can’t get our products to market fast enough, so buyers go elsewhere, and our producers lose out.”

This is why the Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI) gets involved.

“REDI’s mandate is to keep the economic arteries open. We support sustainable growth across the region by advocating for infrastructure improvements and conducting research to guide policy,” said REDI Board Member and Mayor of High Level Josh Lambert.

By looking at the big picture, REDI tackles regional infrastructure challenges on multiple fronts simultaneously to ensure our supply chains keep moving.

Understanding the Bottleneck Distance and Dependency

High Level is located about 800 km north of Edmonton by rail. At this distance, for heavy and bulk commodities, train is more cost effective than trucking, especially since a single railcar can carry roughly two and a half times more than a truck.

“We have the resources and shovel-ready business cases to diversify our economy,” said Lambert. “But none of that matters if our producers can’t get railcars. Unreliable capacity threatens our current industries and stalls future investment.”

The core issue is profit versus geography. Major rail operators answer to shareholders. To maximize returns, they prioritize high-volume, east-west mainlines. Branch lines at the far edges of the map, like the Mackenzie Northern Railway, fall to the bottom of the priority list.

Sending railcars 800 km north is a massive time commitment. For a private railway, keeping those same cars looping quickly between major southern ports offers a faster return on investment.

Even during peak harvest or high lumber demand, northern producers wait weeks for empty cars to arrive. When they finally do, silos are already full and mill yards are stacked. Local producers miss critical market windows time and time again. Our economy is literally riding on the rails of a northbound train.

The First Mile

REDI’s multi-front approach starts at the end of a producer’s driveway. Before a grain truck can load its cargo onto a train, it has local realities to navigate, everything from potholes to weight restrictions in the spring.

Getting to and traversing Highway 35 and Highway 58 come with challenges. Then, there’s relying on the La Crete ferry/ice bridge to cross the Peace River. These are factors that REDI takes into account when advocating for local producers.

“We’re supporting every link—roads, ports, rails—through research and advocacy to ensure commodities move smoothly,” said REDI Board Member and Reeve of Mackenzie County Josh Knelsen. “Upgrading and maintaining key routes means products can move from the farm gate and the mill floor.”

Rail near the Town of High Level // Photography by Andrew O’Rourke

Immediate Advocacy

The second front is consistent and aggressive advocacy. REDI leverages its membership with the Community Rail Advocacy Alliance (CRAA), which unites local governments, forestry operators and agricultural groups like Alberta Grains into a single, powerful voice.

“Our farmers and foresters are world-class, but inconsistent rail service puts them at a disadvantage,” said Wardley. “Through CRAA, REDI pushes hard for fair and reliable transport capacity, so our region can grow.”

The CRAA lobbies federal regulators for data-driven reforms, pushing Ottawa to enforce stricter service guarantees for northern branch lines.

Private citizens can amplify these efforts by contacting their Members of Parliament to let them know you, as a voter, care deeply about your local producers, which means advocating for northern supply chain reliability.

The Alberta to Alaska Project

The third front is a long-term, transformative solution. While working to solve immediate threats, REDI also champions the proposed Alberta to Alaska railway to future-proof the region’s exports.

Today, local grain destined for Japan travels 800 km south into the congested Edmonton corridor before snaking west through the Rockies to Vancouver. The project would flip this script entirely.

A direct northern route connecting Alberta to deep-water Pacific ports in Alaska bypasses southern bottlenecks completely. This diversification of export routes would shave critical days off Asian shipping times, allowing northern businesses to price goods competitively.

This 2,500 km mega-project comes with a $22 billion price tag and complex environmental and regulatory hurdles. While difficult to bring to fruition, REDI understands this level of forward-thinking is an inevitable necessity for the North.

“The Alberta to Alaska rail line would provide direct access to Pacific trade routes, giving us a global edge,” said Wardley. “We want to do our part to make this project become a reality for future generations.”

Securing Supply Chain Sustainability

For REDI, economic development isn’t just about attracting new investments; it’s about increasing capacity and infrastructure that the existing businesses need to thrive.

“Reliable rail service is essential, not optional, for our export-driven economy,” said REDI Manager Andrew O'Rourke. “Partnering with CRAA allows us to demand better service and helps ensure our producers are not left behind.”

Transportation infrastructure is the primary artery for regional development. So, the next time you hear the whistle of a northbound freight train coming your way, remember what it means. It’s the “chugga chugga choo choo” of our economy reminding us to choose our local producers and to choose life in Northwest Alberta.