Category Archives for "Northern Ontario"

Northern Ontario Transportation Task Force looking for Input

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Northern Ontario

As readers know, in January, 2022 Ontario launched a Northern Transportation Task Force, one of 60 actions set out in “Connecting the North A Draft Transportation Plan for Northern Ontario”. On March 13, we received the following communication from Danny Whalen, Co-chair:

We had our first meeting of the full task force and our third meeting of the Co-Chairs.

We went around the table and gathered both concerns and wants for transportation in the north.
We listed both and it was no surprise that many concerns and wants were shared by numerous members.
We have taken the list and organized our upcoming meetings I order of priority.
Highway maintenance and classification was the highest scoring.
The benefits of increasing rail usage for both freight and passenger is another highly shared topic.

We also want to gather as much outside input as possible and have created an email box for collection. If you and your group want to share directly with the task force then please do and submit to

NorthernTransportationPlan@ontario.ca

Danny Whalen

Councillor – City of Temiskaming Shores

President – Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities

Input to Updated Business case for Northeastern Passenger Rail

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Northern Ontario

With the soon-to-be-expected release of an Updated Business case for Northeastern Ontario Passenger Rail, Transport Action Ontario has written the Minister of Transportation and the President of Ontario Northland with two suggestions:

• Interim service to Huntsville or North Bay using GO Transit
• Requirements for permanent rolling stock

Our letter can be viewed here.

Response to Mandate Letter to Minister Alghabra

By Transport Action Ontario | Highways and Bridges , Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Northern Ontario , Southwestern Ontario , Urban Transit

Prime Minister Trudeau released his mandate letters to all cabinet ministers in mid December. Transport Action Ontario has written to Minister of Transport Alghabra providing several critical perspectives on the letter he received. They are

-Full due diligence needed

-Improve transparency/reliability/accountability/communication

-Execution skills and talent are a concern

-Rail offers domestic industrial benefits

-Must account for externalities

The letter can be viewed below.

“Northlander” Delays and Transportation Equity

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Latest News , Northern Ontario

Transport Action Ontario has written a letter to Ontario Minister of Transportation Mulroney expressing our concern with delays to reinstating passenger train service between Toronto and Northeastern Ontario.

The speedy introduction of GO Train service to London shows that the Ontario government can move quickly if there is political will. It is therefore unacceptable that service to Northeastern Ontario remains mired in studies, especially as the rail infrastructure is reportedly in good repair, track capacity should be good and temporary rolling stock is likely available.

We believe this is a matter of transportation equity for Northerners. There are also tourism, economic and environmental benefits.

Our letter can be viewed below.

Online meeting with special guest Corina Moore, CEO of Ontario Northland

By Transport Action Ontario | Events , Northern Ontario

The Northeastern Ontario Rail Network and Transport Action Ontario welcome publication of the long-awaited Initial Business Case for restoring Northeastern Passenger Rail Service by MTO and Ontario Northland on May 25th, and we are encouraged that the Government of Ontario plans to move forward with the restoration of passenger rail service based on the clear social equity need for this service and whole-economy spin-off benefits for the north.
To explain what this announcement means for the region, and what the next steps will be, Corina Moore, CEO of Ontario Northland, will be joining us for a live webinar on June 23rd, 2021.

Ontario Northland:
Passenger Rail Vision

Wednesday June 23rd, 11am

Corina Moore, CEO of Ontario Northland, will discuss Ontario Northland’s services, impact and vision, and the recently published initial business case for restoring Northern Ontario Passenger Rail.

If you don’t have broadband Internet or can’t access Zoom, you can also dial in by phone. Please register online to get the phone numbers and passcode.

Photograph: Polar Bear Express at Cochrane, Ontario Northland