WINNIPEG — Manitoba says it will be looking closer at the potential of shifting Winnipeg freight rail traffic to a route just south of the city.

The government says Lloyd Axworthy will lead the 90-day feasibility study and consultation to explore how realistic it is to try and move the traffic to a route that would follow a Manitoba Hydro corridor.

The work builds on a broader rail relocation study that Axworthy, a former federal Liberal cabinet minister, was asked in 2024 to lead.

Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday the difference is this study will be looking at the specific proposed route.

“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.”

He said the proposal to relocate the line on Crown-owned land along the utility corridor would help avoid costly and lengthy land expropriations.

The government said the study would work with railway companies including CN, CPKC and BNSF to make sure a business case exists for a relocation.

Proponents of rail relocation say it would increase safety by no longer shipping hazardous materials through residential areas. They have also cited a desire to remove large rail yards that serve as barriers between neighbourhoods.

The idea of moving rail lines has been brought up since the 1960s, and the cost has been estimated at well above $1 billion.

Kinew acknowledged any relocation would come with a high price tag, but said it’s about thinking longer term.

“The most important number for Manitobans to think about today is that this is a 20-year idea,” he said.

“Billions of dollars over a 20-year timeline: that’s an investment that we can afford, and that’s an investment in our future.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2026.

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press