CHURCHILL, Man. - The federal government says it will help residents of Churchill, Man., offset the higher prices for gasoline they've been paying since the northern Manitoba community lost its rail link.

Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr announced Friday that $132,870 from the Churchill and Region Economic Development Fund will allow a fuel supplier to restore prices to where they were when the rail line was washed out last year.

The $7.3 million fund is administered by Community Futures Manitoba for Western Economic Diversification Canada.

A news release from Western Economic Diversification says the funding will help address the increased cost of shipping, storing and distributing gasoline to the community.

The community on Hudson Bay is a well-known destination for polar bear watching, but severe flooding damaged the rail line in May and railway owner Omnitrax has said it can't afford to make the repairs.

The track was Churchill's only land link, and a litre of gas cost more than two dollars when Carr visited Churchill at the start of December.