SAULT STE. MARIE — The Agawa Canyon Tour Train is cancelled for the 2020 season due to COVID-19, according to a notice posted to the tour train website.
The popular train had already been delayed. In a notice sent to local political leaders last month, Algoma Central Railway owner CN Rail served notice that the 2020 tour season, originally scheduled to start June 16, will be delayed until September.
"It is with regret that we are announcing that the entire Agawa Canyon Tour Train 2020 season is cancelled in the interest of public health and safety," says a note on the website. "This decision is in line with existing restrictions at both the provincial and federal levels, as we continue to witness extended states of emergency and limitations on non-essential travel."
CN says those who have purchased accommodation packages and tickets will receive a full refund within 30 days.
City officials consider the tour train a vital part of the city's tourism industry and the cancellation comes as a new station for the train is being built next the The Machine Shop on the property of the former St. Mary's Paper. The project, which received $5-million from the province, includes an exhibit centre/gallery, a micro-brewery and an outdoor event centre.
The Agawa Canyon Tour Train was named "one of North America's most popular train rides" by National Geographic magazine in a feature that declared Agawa Canyon one of Canada's "50 places of a lifetime."
