Category Archives for "Intercity Rail and Bus"

Nov 10

Rail Safety Committment from Federal Liberals

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus

 

 

Since the Lac Megantic rail tragedy in 2013, and numerous other rail incidents in Canada, the issue of rail safety has had high visibility with the Canadian public.  Transport Action Ontario and its affiliates has been vocal in on this issue.  There are numerous posting on this website on the topic of rail safety.

 

Transport Action Ontario has been assisting a non-government organization, called Safe Rail Communities, to advocate with the federal government on improved rail safety.  As part of the recent Federal Election, each party was solicited for their commitment to improve rail safety.  The response from the  Liberal Party of Canada was particularly encouraging, and is available for viewing at this link:

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/460d0bf8-fee9-45d3-aff1-11283306173c

 

We are also pleased to note that the issue of reinforcing rail safety is cited in the mandate letter to Minister of Transport Marc Garneau.

 

 

 

Sep 24

Submission on Modernizing Intercity Bus Service

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus

 

 

The Government of Ontario is consulting on information and ideas on modernizing intercity bus service.  This is in response to the critical state of the industry, with declining service, ridership and profitability.

 

The Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance (SWOTA), of which Transport Action Ontario is a key member, has made a submission to this consultation.    It focussed on the proven best practices for integrated passenger rail and bus networks, as documented in our Network Southwest plan.  The submission makes several recommendations on how to modernize the bus regulatory regime.

 

The SWOTA submission can be viewed here: SWOTA-BusServiceModernization_2015-09-22

 

 

Sep 15

Western Ontario Warden’s Caucus Submission to “Moving Ontario Forward”

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus

 

 

The Western Ontario Warden’s Caucus (WOWC), a not-for-profit organization representing 14 counties and Chatham-Kent in Western Ontario, has led a submission to the Government of Ontario’s Moving Ontario Forward consultation.  This consultation is requesting input on how to allocate funding on critical infrastructure needs and an integrated transportation network across the province.  About $15 Billion is available over 10 years for projects outside the GTHA.

The WOWC consulted with member municipalities, the nine single-tier municipalities in the region and various non-government organizations including the Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance (SWOTA) and Transport Action Ontario (TAO).  The submission includes a number of strategic areas, including our $400 Million (over 5 years)  Network Southwest plan.

The WOWC submission can be viewed here:   WOWC-submission to MovingONForward2015-09

 

In addition, SWOTA issued a letter of support for the WOWC submission, providing more detail on the Network Southwest portion.

The SWOTA letter can be viewed here: SWOTA-supportfor WOWC2015-09-15

 

 

 

 

Aug 01

The North Main Line Reborn: Action Plan for VIA’s North Main Line

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus

 

 

On July 30, 2015, the St Marys Ontario Save VIA non-government organization released a new report on VIA’s North Main Line.    Save VIA  is a close affiliate of Transport Action Ontario, and we are both members of the Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance (SWOTA).

 

The report gives a situation analysis and outlines numerous quickly-implemented low-cost improvements that can be implemented on the line to boost ridership, revenue, cost recovery and service frequency.  The report can  be viewed here:   NML Reborn Final Rev5 150801sm (1)

 

 

 

Jun 10

Developing Higher Speed Electric Railways Across Canada

By Transport Action Ontario | Intercity Rail and Bus , Major Reports

 

 

Dr. Avrum Regenstreif, long time member and colleague of Transport Action Ontario, has completed a report on developing higher speed electric railways across Canada.  it is intended as a backgrounder to foster discussion and it offers one possible long term vision on development of higher speed electrified railroads in Canada.  While Transport Action Ontario has long supported railway electrification, the details of how this is to be achieved as expressed in this report are the opinion of the author, and are not the official position of Transport Action Ontario.

 

We welcome feedback on this important topic.

 

The report can be viewed here:  TAO-HSR-Paper-Final2015-06

 

 

 

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