A Federal Court of Appeal judge has allowed CN Rail to continue building its $250-million $250-million logistics hub project in Milton, Ont., at least temporarily.

CN won a stay of proceedings of a lower court ruling that nixed the project, the Canadian Press and several other media outlets reported. The full appeal of that decision is still to be heard.

But the stay allows CN to continue with construction, pending the appeal result.

The project is designed to double CN’s rail capacity in the Halton region and house a facility that transfers shipping containers to semi-trucks from trains in Milton, which is part of the Greater Toronto Area.

Federal Appeal Court Justice George Locke ruled that a delay in the project is “detrimental to the public interest,” the Canadian Press reported.

Montreal-based CN remained committed to the project after the lower court ruling. Doug MacDonald, CN’s executive vice-president and chief marketing officer, said previously that the project is fundamental to the federal government’s goal to make the Canadian transportation system more affordable to Canadians.

Pending the appeal result, the earlier Federal Court of Canada decision requires Ottawa to reconsider cabinet’s January 2021 approval of the project.

An expert review panel concluded that the hub would likely have a harmful environmental impact on “human health as it relates to air quality,” Judge Harry Brown said in his ruling, CP reported. But, the judge found, cabinet and then-environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson “inexplicably” did not consider or refer to the panel’s finding when approving the project.

CN has contended that the original authorization to build the project was subject to Canada’s most extensive environmental review process. In an earlier statement, the company noted that the approval includes 325 conditions designed to protect both the community and the environment.