Saskatchewan more than doubles funding pool for short-line grants in 2025 

By Jeff Stagl, Managing Editor 

Before spring turns to summer, the province of Saskatchewan expects to announce this year’s recipients of Short Line Railway Improvement (SLRI) program grants. 

Allocated annually, the grants provide up to 50% of the eligible cost of such short-line infrastructure improvements as track upgrades, expansions or rehabilitation; grade crossing surface and sightline upgrades; and bridge maintenance work.  

There are 13 short lines that operate in Saskatchewan. The good news for those small railroads is that the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways in March announced the SLRI program will provide C$1 million in grants in 2025 versus the C$470,000 that was doled out last year. 

“The ministry will determine by later this spring the allocation of that [higher] provincial funding among the eligible short line railways in Saskatchewan,” says Dan Palmer, a spokesperson for the highway ministry 

The grants are allocated based on the amount of trackage each short line operates. The 13 provincially regulated short lines in Saskatchewan collectively operate more than 2,000 miles of track, or one quarter of all rail kilometers in the province, primarily to transport grain. 

The Western Canadian Short Line Railway Association (WCSLRA) — which represents the interests of 19 short lines in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan — hailed the more than doubling of SLRI program grant dollars in 2025. Association members are committed to a high degree of re-investment and infrastructure improvements, and the grant hike will help add to their investments, says WCSLRA President Andrew Glastetter, the general manager of the Great Western Railway in southwest Saskatchewan. 

The 440-mile Great Western Railway — which owns 260 grain hoppers, a rail-car repair facility and an affiliated grain company — interchanges with CPKC. Great Western Railway

“This increase will provide resources to further enhance our robust safety regime, while supporting the highest level of service to our valued customers and the communities in which we operate,” he says. 

Short lines help Saskatchewan producers and businesses transition their goods onto rail, while finding creative and flexible solutions for emerging transportation needs and transporting Saskatchewan exports, says WCSLRA Director of Communications and Government Relations Rachel Mackenzie.  

“The province’s increased investment in the [grant] program acknowledges the role that private rail infrastructure plays in preserving rural roads and supporting the economy of Saskatchewan,” she says. 

The grant funding increase poses a big boost for the Great Western Railway, which is the largest short line in Saskatchewan, says Glastetter. 

The railroad — which is marking its 25th anniversary this year — now owns 260 grain hoppers, an AAR-certified rail-car repair facility and an affiliated grain company, Great Western Commodities. In addition, the short line has more than 400 shareholders, mostly crop growers, ranchers and communities based in southwest Saskatchewan, says Glastetter. 

Moreover, the Great Western interchanges with Canadian Pacific Kansas City in Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and operates and maintains 72 miles of track along the Red Coat Road & Rail under an operating/maintenance agreement. 

“Our share of this increase to [grant] funding will go a long way to supporting track infrastructure improvements and safety along our 440-mile operating network,” says Glastetter. 

The Saskatchewan government created the SLRI program in 2021. Prior to that, the province stopped providing funds for short-line infrastructure projects for a number of years. 

“Many years ago, the program was actually over C$900,000 until the province cancelled it altogether in 2017. It was reinstated in 2021 at the C$530,000 level and now has increased to C$1 million,” says Glastetter. “I am grateful for the support from our province and thankful that the province recognizes the value that short line railways provide to the supply chain and the province.”