Sept 19 (Reuters) - Canadian National Railway ( CNI )

will relocate its operations from Jasper, a town in the province

of Alberta, to Hinton, about 100 kilometers away, said the

Teamsters Canada Rail Conference in a statement.

The popular tourist town, which is vulnerable to wildfires,

was ravaged by one in late July. Nearly a third of Jasper's

structures were destroyed, with some 25,000 people forced to

evacuate.

"This is another devastating blow to the town of Jasper,

after this year's catastrophic wildfires," said Paul Boucher,

union president.

At over 130,000 members, Teamsters Canada is the country's

largest transportation and supply chain union.

The relocation to Hinton will directly impact around 200

union workers currently living in Jasper, according to the

statement.

"Rail is one of the largest industries in Jasper, after

tourism, and CN's move will cripple this community even

further," said Boucher.

The union and Canadian National will negotiate a package for

the affected workers, under the terms of their collective

agreement.