The Manitoba government has commissioned a 90-day feasibility study to examine whether freight rail traffic through Winnipeg can be moved to a route just south of the city, officials announced Wednesday.
Study to examine a specific route along utility corridor
Former federal Liberal cabinet minister Lloyd Axworthy will head the group tasked with looking closely at the proposal, which envisions shifting rail lines to land that follows a Manitoba Hydro corridor on Crown-owned property. The work is a follow-up to a broader rail relocation study Axworthy led in 2024 and will focus on the concrete route and landowner identified by that earlier project.
The review aims to determine whether relocating more freight traffic out of the city’s urban core would:
- improve goods transportation efficiency and safety,
- reduce impacts on residential neighbourhoods, and
- create opportunities for housing, green space, transportation and economic development in former rail corridors.
“After the work that they’ve put in, we’ve got something concrete they’ve identified, an actual route they’ve identified, the landowner they’ve identified.”
The quote was provided by Premier Wab Kinew, who said the new study would drill down on a specific proposed route rather than revisit the broader questions addressed previously.
Stakeholders caution complexity and scale
Major railway companies have warned that such a relocation would be a sizeable undertaking, the announcement noted. Moving an established rail network — with its associated infrastructure, operations and logistics — will require careful assessment of costs, timelines, regulatory approvals and technical feasibility.
Officials say the study will include public consultation alongside technical and planning work. The timeline for the feasibility assessment is 90 days, after which the province and the study group are expected to report back with findings and recommendations.
| Study element | Primary goal |
|---|---|
| Route assessment | Evaluate feasibility of rail alignment along Manitoba Hydro corridor |
| Transportation impacts | Determine effects on goods movement and rail operations |
| Community outcomes | Examine potential for housing, green spaces and local development |
Local residents, municipal planners and businesses will be watching how the review balances the aims of improving freight movement with neighbourhood livability and land-use change. If relocation proceeds, land currently occupied by rail infrastructure in central Winnipeg could be repurposed for housing, parks or transportation projects—options highlighted by the provincial announcement.
What’s next for Winnipeg and the proposal
The 90-day window will produce an initial assessment; further steps could include more detailed engineering studies, environmental assessments, negotiations with rail companies and Crown land processes. The government has not committed to a timeline beyond the feasibility phase or to any specific funding for construction should the study recommend a relocation.
For many Winnipeg neighbourhoods bisected by rail lines, the possibility of moving freight traffic raises long-standing questions about connectivity, safety at grade crossings and the availability of land for new housing. At the same time, rail companies and logistics operators will weigh the operational challenges of any realignment against potential benefits.
The study builds on work initiated two years earlier and represents a renewed provincial effort to identify practical options that could reshape the urban footprint of rail in Winnipeg. The government and the Axworthy-led group are expected to report their findings at the end of the 90-day period.
