Railmark President and CEO B. Allan Brown talks to the media after the approval of agreements in principle between the City, Railmark and Transport Canada at Monday’s City Council meeting:

City Council approved an agreement in principle on Monday between the city and Transport Canada. This deal also mirrors an agreement betwen the city and Michigan-based Railmark, who will take over operations of the ACR Passenger Rail Service sometime in May. The operation would happen for at least three years, but the goal is to make the service self-sustainable after five years. All parties along the Sault to Hearst route are excited about the deal including Railmark President and CEO B. Allan Brown, who says this is an opportunity for a connection to market the train outside Sault Ste. Marie…

Brown was asked how confident he was in the rail service being successful during the duration of the agreement. He would only say that his company and the stakeholders could only work with what they were dealt. Brown further explained that the goal remains self-sustainability in five years — with a declining subsidy annually. City CAO Joe Fratesi warned that the city should not be involved in the rail business, especially after a period of time when the ACR is scheduled to be self-sufficient. But Brown has some grand plans during that time to keep the ACR in operation and enhance the customer experience on the Sault to Hearst service…

One of those ideas is to increase capacity to move snowmobiles, by adding more baggage cars. This would allow groups of 30 people or more to travel with their snow machines on trips out of town. Gary McGuffin is a conservation photographer who has a vested interest in what happens — the ACR is the only way for people to see the geographical sites that have inspired works of art. He says he’s confident Railmark will be successful in its taking over the operations of the passenger service…

McGuffin was among a group of supporters that attended Monday night’s meeting, including First Nations and tourism group representatives.