Category Archives for "Intercity Rail and Bus"

Jan 15

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.

Jan 03

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.


Nov 15

Boosting Intermodal Truck/Train Freight to Reduce GHG Emissions

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

With the conclusion of the COP26 conference, the issue of Canada’s Greenhouse Gas transportation emissions, from both personal and freight transportation, is front-and-centre. Transport Action Ontario has written a letter to the federal government discussing the alternative of truck/train intermodal freight versus continued highway expansion, and the need for federal involvement in what is largely private enterprise.

We felt that policy-driven publicly-funded incentives to build and expand state-of-the-art intermodal services in the Windsor-Quebec corridor are needed.

Our letter can be viewed below.

Oct 27

We Can Get There From Here – Update on Passenger Rail to Southwestern Ontario Task Force

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

With the Southwestern Ontario Transportation Task Force about to wrap up its work, Transport Action (TAO) has made a final submission. This is an update to our earlier briefing note (February, 2021) outlining the opportunities and needs to improve passenger rail in the region. Our new submission covered three areas:

Federal Announcement in July, committing the government to enhance and modernize intercity passenger rail in the region, working collaboratively with the Province.

Introduction of GO Transit service to London, by extending its Kitchener service. In our view, this development dramatically changes the playing field. It is increasingly difficult to justify two agencies attempting to share that corridor with similar stopping patterns. TAO recommends a transition to a clear separation of roles, with GO Transit assuming full responsibility for the London-Kitchener-Toronto route, while VIA Rail retains full and exclusive responsibility for delivering and enhancing service west of London and on the Brantford route.

Updated Recommendations on Rail Infrastructure Improvements. During the summer, TAO consulted with VIA Rail, CN, OWS Rail and other industry sources to upgrade our list of needed rail investments. We recommended short-term items, medium-term items for capacity and speed improvements, cross-border items and longer-term items.

Our full submission can be viewed below.

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