Reported by Wendy Fraser Bridge River Lillooet News April 11, 2018 Council approved a motion for the District to sponsor a late resolution for the SILGA (Southern Interior Local Government Association) convention on passenger rail service. Mayor Lampman said mayors and directors attending an NDIT meeting encouraged Lillooet to submit the resolution in light of the cancellation of Greyhound bus service in this area and other rural areas of B.C. The resolution encourages the Province of B.C. to work in partnership with VIA Rail to fund and conduct a feasibility study for VIA Rail passenger service between North Vancouver and Prince George. The resolution states that District of Lillooet Council believes “public rail transportation will improve public safety, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance economic development opportunities throughout the entire former BC Rail corridor.” Mayor Lampman said she is waiting on ridership data from the provincial government. The data is from when the BC Rail passenger train service was in operation and she will then share that data with VIA Rail in a summary she is compiling. “VIA Rail has asked for that information,” she told the News during Media Question Period. “The problem is that it’s not on the computer and the province has to go into the archives to find it.” She said eventually the information package will be submitted to federal Minister of Transport Marc Garneau and he will decide if there will be a feasibility study. (Post script: We trust that even though the BC Rail ridership data will be very outdated, included in the feasibility package sent to the Minister will be estimates of ridership that accurately reflect the present day, including increases in population density.)