Prince Edward Island Railway - The Decline of Rail On P.E.I.

The Decline of Rail On P.E.I.

Trucks soon began to take traffic away from freight operations on Prince Edward Island, particularly as CNR improved the ferry system to accept more road vehicles. By the 1970s, critical agricultural cargo such as the potato harvests were increasingly transferring to trucks with each successive season. As a result, CN increasingly began to avoid investing capital into improving railway infrastructure in the province. In a classic "demarketing" strategy, CN's deteriorating track conditions resulted in further loss of service to trucks.

By the early 1980s CN made it clear the days of its railway operations on Prince Edward Island were numbered, however Island politicians at the provincial and federal level managed to dissuade CN from abandoning. The renewed talk of a fixed link in 1985-1986, following aborted attempts at building a highway/railway causeway across Abegweit Passage in 1957 and 1965–1969, saw CN accelerate its attempts to withdraw railway service on Prince Edward Island.