Category Archives for "Intercity Rail and Bus"

Rural Transit Renaissance for Southwestern Ontario

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

After several years of patient lobbying by rural citizens, transit activists, and local councils, 2020 is set to be a banner year for rural transit in Southwestern Ontario. Many of the projects funded through the Community Transportation Grants will come to fruition, and new bus services are expected to be in place by summer 2020.

The Community Transportation Grants were first announced in 2018, but with the change of provincial government and lack of central support or coordination for procurement, some routes have taken longer to start up than others. The Leamington – Windsor service, which uses existing Transit Windsor buses, has been running since July 2019.

Without regional coordination of transportation planning, something we believe is most certainly needed for Southwestern Ontario, there is as yet no comprehensive route map and schedule database to illustrate the full scope of the services being funded and introduced, but it will include several of the routes previously identified as high priorities by Transport Action Ontario and the Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance in the Network Southwest report published in 2014.

There were critical gaps in the projects that applied for the Community Transportation Grants, including St. Thomas – London, further illustrating the need for regional coordination, rather than a process dependent upon piecemeal grant applications, to maximize the social and economic impact of these investments, although the Mayor of St. Thomas is now requesting additional funding from the Ontario government to restore services on that route.

https://london.ctvnews.ca/ticket-to-ride-regional-bus-from-st-thomas-to-london-in-the-works-1.4733716

Here are the announcements for many of the new services funded by Community Transportation Grants:

Sarnia – London

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/voyago-to-operate-london-strathroy-sarnia-bus-service-1.5402461

Owen Sound – Guelph

https://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/news/local-news/kaspers-owen-sound-to-guelph-transit-service-to-start-jan-15

Tillsonburg – Woodstock

https://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/news/local-news/oxford-inter-community-bus-service-to-launch-in-april

Stratford – Kitchener/London

https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/bus-pilot-project-from-stratford-to-london-kitchener-and-more-set-to-launch-next-year-1.4604140

Leamington – Kingsville – Essex – Windsor

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/windsor-leamington-transit-route-1.5204505

Brant e-Ride (on-demand)

https://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/news/local-news/brant-to-offer-eride-service

Wellington County RideWell (on-demand)

https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/wellington-county-rural-transit-service-takes-to-the-road-1723716

Chatham-Kent adVANtage (on-demand)

https://familyservicekent.com/services/advantage-transporation/

These services join existing rural transit services in the region, including:

Four Counties Transit (West Elgin, SW Middlesex, Newbury, Eastern Chatham-Kent)

http://www.westelgin.net/residents/four-counties-community-transportation-service

Ride Norfolk

https://www.norfolkcounty.ca/transit/schedulesandmaps/

Chatham-Kent Inter-urban Transit

https://www.chatham-kent.ca/community-services/transportation/InterUrbanTransit

Extensive Media Coverage on Return of Passenger Rail to Northern Ontario

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

There has been extensive media coverage recently referencing the return of passenger rail to Northern Ontario and the business case that is currently being developed between Ontario Northland and Metrolinx. The plan is slated to be presented to the Provincial Government for decision making by the end of the year.

Given below are links to recent media articles.

Passenger Rail promise will be fulfilled

https://www.nugget.ca/news/local-news/passenger-rail-promise-will-be-fulfilled-fedeli-vows

Reference to passenger rail transportation proposal and rail solutions for northern Ontario

https://www.northbaynipissing.com/community-story/9706884-trains-planes-and-buses-for-nipissing-on-fedeli-s-2020-to-do-list/

Revival of Passenger Rail from Toronto to Cochrane

https://northernontario.ctvnews.ca/mobile/bringing-buses-and-trains-in-the-north-up-to-speed-1.4683248?cache=?ot=AjaxLayout

Passenger Rail Plan Closed to Being Unveiled

Passenger rail plan close to being unveiled

Guest Speaker: John Bakker on Electrification

By Transport Action Ontario | Events , Intercity Rail and Bus , Urban Transit

We invite you to join us for a guest speaker meeting on Wednesday October 23rd in Toronto, or Friday October 25th in Ottawa.

John Bakker, Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Alberta, and past Western vice-president of Transport Action Canada, now resident in the Vancouver area, will speak on Transportation Electrification Strategies for Western Canada discussing passenger rail, urban light rail, and freight. 

John served as civil engineering consultant for the Edmonton LRT, North America’s first modern light rail system, in 1978. Together with John Schnablegger, he also authored Ottawa’s 1996 Rapid Transit study, which was the basis for the decision in 1997 to implement the Ottawa Light Rail Pilot Project, from Greenboro and Carleton University to Bayview, and now forms the Trillium Line in Ottawa’s LRT system.

Toronto Meeting

Date: Wednesday October 23, 2019
Time: 5:30 to 7:30 pm
Location: St. Paul’s Bloor Street | 227 Bloor Street St. E, Toronto, Room 206

The nearest TTC subway stations are Bloor-Yonge and Sherbourne.

Ottawa Meeting

Date: Friday October 25th, 2019
Time: 5:00 to 6.30 pm (doors open at 4.30 pm)
Location: Bronson Centre | 211 Bronson Avenue, Ottawa, Room 221

The Bronson Centre is served directly by bus route #10 Hurdman from Lyon O-Train Station, or by bus route #11 from downtown or the west end to Somerset and Bronson, two blocks south of the Centre. Free parking is available on the side streets around the Centre or in the parking lot at the rear off Nepean Street.

Photo: A “Rolling Highway” through the Alps in Switzerland – An option for the Rockies? 

Write to your Federal Candidates about Northern Ontario Passenger Rail and Bus Services

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

With the federal election fast upon us, Transport Action Canada is conducting multiple campaigns to write to federal candidates about the importance of protecting and restoring inter-community rail and bus service. This includes Northern Ontario.

To send a letter regarding Northern Ontario service restoration, click on the button below:

Huron Central Railway threatens to cease operations

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

A news article published in the Shoreline Beacon on October 7, 2019 portends a grim future for the Huron Central Railway. Genesee & Wyoming will cease operations in the new year if $40 million in funding over five years is not forthcoming for infrastructure repairs. This puts 3,400 jobs in the region at risk. Transport Action Ontario will be discussing this closure with government stakeholders with a view to rescuing this line.

https://www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-news/sudbury-to-sault-rail-line-to-be-closed-early-next-year

Huron Central Railway says it will cease operations because it hasn’t received money from the federal or provincial government to make necessary improvements to its Sudbury-to-Sault Ste. Marie line.

“For the last few years we have worked diligently with elected officials in Toronto and Ottawa and a dedicated team of local leaders to develop a long-term strategy to sustain (Huron Central Railway)” said Louis Gravel, president of Genesee & Wyoming.

One option that we are asking the Ontario government to consider is merging the line into the Ontario Northland network, as proposed by local advocacy groups CAPT and NEORN.

https://www.sootoday.com/local-news/should-ontario-northland-take-over-huron-central-railway-942170

Photo: Huron Central train in Massey by P199