on Vancouver Island got the support of a majority of municipal politicians this morning.

But the management in charge of that service will have to wait until tomorrow before it finds out if it will get a similar vote of confidence.

Delegates to the annual Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities conference in Nanaimo voted in a show of hands by an approximately two to one margin to urge the federal government to release the $7.5 million it has promised to upgrade the tracks.

While the vote is largely symbolic, it did send the message that a majority of communities still endorse the idea of a Vancouver Island rail system, despite recent concerns expressed by the Capital Regional District and the Regional District of Nanaimo.

VictoriaB次元官网网址檚 Ben Isitt said there is no advanced country in the world without a high-quality rail system and forward-thinking communities need to embrace rail as a better economic and ecological option for the future.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 been an incredible battle. If we walk away now, everything will fail,B次元官网网址� Courtenay Mayor Larry Jangula said.

Jangula is also a member of the Island Corridor Foundation board. Owners of the railway, the ICF is the subject of the second rail-related motion on the AVICC agenda. The CRD is calling for a review of its governance and finances.

AVICC directors halted the debate of resolutions just before that one hit the floor, saying they had run out of time. It could resurface tomorrow morning at a session scheduled to begin at 8:50 a.m.

A handful of directors said any questions that exist about ICF management must be kept separate from the issue of rail service.

B次元官网网址淭he management is a separate question,B次元官网网址� Isitt said.

RDN director Julian Fell said the RDNB次元官网网址檚 recent decision to pull its promised funding rendered the grant release motion B次元官网网址� introduced by Port Alberni B次元官网网址� moot. He pointed to an excursion train that toured Nanaimo Friday.

B次元官网网址淭hat may be the last passenger train we see on Vancouver Island,B次元官网网址� he said.

But the majority of delegates disagreed.

B次元官网网址淭here have been many obstacles placed in its way and the foundation has overcome every one of those obstacles,B次元官网网址� Nanaimo mayor and ICF Chairman Bill McKay said. B次元官网网址淎ll we are doing is asking the federal government to release the funds."