On the Rails with Thomas Bevan of Island Corridor Foundation

What does it actually take to bring 289 kilometres of century-old railway back to life? In this episode of Nonpartisan Hacks, Joel Grenz and Sean Wood take the show on the road — or rather, the rails — recording aboard a high rail vehicle rolling from Parksville to Coombs with returning guest Thomas Bevan, CEO of the Island Corridor Foundation. Bevan walks Joel and Sean through the history of the old rail corridor, from its origins as a resource-extraction line built on a 19th-century land grant, through decades of decline, to the Foundation’s current work managing wildfire risk, negotiating trail agreements, and finding revenue that keeps 289 kilometres of land productive without waiting on government to decide the corridor’s fate. Listen in for: Why the Island Corridor Foundation’s strategy is "one mile at a time" instead of holding out for a bullet train How the Cameron Lake Fire changed the Foundation’s approach to vegetation management Why rails and trails aren’t an either/or on Vancouver Island The economics of managing a 100-foot-wide, 289-kilometre non-profit land base What’s next for Coombs, Ladysmith, and the Colwood Crawl corridor in Greater Victoria What it’s actually like to record a podcast from a moving high rail vehicle 👉 Subscribe, rate, and review on your favourite podcast platform. Find all our episodes at nonpartisanhacks.com and drop us a line. 🎵 Theme music: "Cruising" by Sky Gienger via Uppbeat | License: JNRTTK70QSW4XR8V