By Wendy Fraser, Editor Bridge-River Lillooet News Dec. 27, 2017 It was a casual comment but we can’t stop thinking about it. In an interview with the News earlier this month, Lytton Mayor Jessoa Lightfoot said she’d teased Lillooet’s Mayor Marg Lampman—the main advocate for restoring passenger rail service between North Vancouver and Prince George—“that we should load up all the Union of B.C. Municipalities delegates from the various municipalities along the rail line and go from Prince George to Whistler next year by train.” We think it’s a fantastic idea that should be seriously pursued. What better way to support the proposal than to have a chartered trainload of municipal leaders chug into Whistler next September for meetings with the Premier and cabinet? What better way to focus media attention on the concept than a good old-fashioned whistle stop train ride? For starters, UBCM would offer local government leaders an opportunity for serious discussions with the provincial government regarding the cost of subsidizing public transportation in the north and the interior so that residents can access health, education and employment opportunities. After all, VIA Rail is still subsidized—even with its millions of passengers per year. Those leaders can also point to the “green” benefits of rail versus road transportation; the increasing pressure on highways; and the enormous tourism potential of affordable rail travel through breathtaking scenery along the old PGE/BC Rail line. Answers are needed to specific questions about the decreasing volume of CN’s freight traffic on the line; how much the debt of the Whistler Northwind service ate into the bottom line of the overall BC Rail passenger service before the service was cancelled in 2002; and rights-of-way access to the rail line. Lillooet’s campaign to restore the passenger service received support in 2016 from communities along the line from North Vancouver to Prince George (including those two major cities), as well as the SLRD, tourism organizations, businesses, etc. Now is an opportune time to refocus attention on the proposal. All Aboard!!