Category Archives for "Northern Ontario"

May 30

Connected Intercity Bus Network still Needed

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

At the public portion of the Transport Action Ontario Annual General Meeting, May 25, 2024, John Stepovy, Director of Partnerships, Busbud.com, summarized the status of the intercity bus network in Canada. 

Busbud is a Canadian company that provides bus and rail trip searching, planning, scheduling, booking and payment services for clients in 80 countries.  Key partners in Canada include VIA Rail, Union Pearson Express, Flixbus, Rider Express, Ontario Northland, Ebus, Maritime Bus and many more.

There continue to be issues in establishing a coordinated bus network in Canada:

  • Different carriers have different concession definitions and different baggage policies.
  • Different carriers often use different terminals in the same part of a city, meaning connections are challenging, especially with baggage.  For example, most bus carriers use the Union Station Bus Terminal in Toronto, while others use a drop point on York St. or on Queen’s Quay Blvd.
  • Lack of federal interest in developing a cross-Canada connected network. The federal government could fill a real gap by funding a central platform that houses all carriers’ schedules, maps, route information and fares.  While parliamentarians are supportive of this, Transport Canada has largely deflected this need to the Provinces.
  • Lack of federal interest in supporting private carriers to fill out the rural bus network.  For example, private carriers are not eligible for the Rural Transit Solutions Fund.

Transport Action will continue to work with Busbud and with bus carriers to advocate for improvements to the cross-Canada bus network.

May 29

Advocacy Summary April, 2023 – May, 2024

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

Transport Action Ontario’s annual general meeting (AGM) was held in Toronto on May 25, 2024 in a hybrid format. The meeting followed a pro-forma agenda, including Treasurer’s report and election of officers and directors for the upcoming year.

The major part of the meeting was devoted to the President’s Report, which summarized the extensive advocacy work undertaken by the organization all across the Province over the past 12 months. In total, work was conducted on about 30 items, with some successes and good progress on others.

For members and subscribers who were unable to attend the AGM, the President’s Report is attached as a FYI.

Jan 26

Submission to Ontario 2024 Budget Consultation

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

The Ontario government is conducting public consultations leading up to its 2024 Budget, expected in March, 2024. Transport Action Ontario has made a written submission on public transportation needs, with eight recommendations:

  • Make Community Transportation Grants permanent
  • Use a partnership approach on regional passenger rail outside the Greater Golden Horseshoe
  • Work with CN to upgrade track for new “Northlander” train
  • Support shortline rail with track maintenance tax credit
  • Introduce provincial banking of discontinued rail corridors, i.e. “rail bank”
  • Do a deep dive into capital costs and procurement model for rapid transit in Ontario
  • Cancel Highway 413
  • Scope new revenue tools for municipal government, and on congestion/road pricing

Our submission can be viewed below.

Apr 16

Advocacy Summary for April, 2022 – April, 2023

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

Transport Action Ontario’s annual general meeting (AGM) was held in Toronto on April 15, 2023 in a hybrid format. The meeting followed a pro-forma agenda, including Treasurer’s report and election of officers and directors for the upcoming year.

The major part of the meeting was devoted to the President’s report, which summarized the extensive advocacy work undertaken by the organization all across the Province over the past 12 months. In total, work was conducted on about 30 items, with some successes and good progress on others.

For members and subscribers who were unable to attend the AGM, the President’s Report is attached as a FYI.

Dec 24

Ontario Northland Passenger Train Order Confirmed

By Transport Action Ontario | Northern Ontario

Christmas came early for northeastern Ontario, and a major victory for citizen advocacy, when Stan Cho MPP, Ontario’s Associate Minister of Transportation, announced the purchase of three new train sets to restore the Northlander passenger train service on December 15th, 2022.

The promise to restore the service, first made in 2018, has now been transformed into a $139.5M purchase order for Siemens Venture trainsets to be delivered by 2026. Now we can be confident that the service will be reinstated, and the purchase of new equipment should help to assure its future over the longer term.

“Thank you to all the people who helped make this happen – our advocacy is working! Such great news especially at this holiday season. See you on the train in 2026.”

— NEORN co-chairs Howie Wilcox and Lucille Frith

It has taken a decade of citizen and community advocacy by the Northeastern Ontario Rail Network, Transport Action Ontario, and other groups; more than 72 municipalities along the route passing resolution calling for the return the passenger train; and hundreds of people putting in hundreds of hours attending meetings, town halls, interviews, writing articles, and connecting with anyone who could help make the government understand the need for a passenger train between Toronto and Cochrane; followed by two elections worth of political promises and millions of dollars in studies and business plans, to get the this milestone.

Each Venture train, purchased as a follow-on to VIA Rail’s order and therefore mechanically identical, will be hauled by a diesel locomotive that meets the latest EPA Tier 4 emission standards, making them one of the most environmentally friendly engines on the market. The consists will each have one business-class car and two fully accessible economy coach cars, one of which will also be a cab car to allow bidirectional operation. The trains will include built-in wheelchair lifts, mobility aid spaces, galleys for food services, and fully accessible washrooms. The trainset interiors will also feature spacious seating and modern amenities, including Wi-Fi connectivity and passenger information systems with audio and visual announcements.

The train will travel north from Toronto on the Richmond Hill line as it did in 2012, making sixteen stops between Union Station and Timmins, but it expected to run through the night between North Bay and Timmins in each direction, making its schedule similar to the Northland formerly operated jointly by Ontario northland and VIA. There will be a rail connection onwards from Timmins to Cochrane to make the connection to the Polar Bear Express to Moosonee, which will probably be a continuation of the train from Toronto using the bidirectional capability of the Venture trains. Some communities that were omitted from the route earlier in the business case process, like South River, now appear to be back on the map, a further victory for community advocacy.

Next steps for Ontario Northland

With the purchase confirmed, Ontario Northland can now move forward with the details of the business plan. This will include customizing the interior design of the trains to provide comfort and amenities suitable for the route; developing connectivity plans with bus services; details of corridor, station, and shelter infrastructure; and with community outreach, marketing, and partnerships. Most important will be securing track access and right of way for the service over tracks owned by Metrolinx and CN, including track upgrades required to ensure a smooth ride and robust on time performance.

The Updated Business Case projected investments of between $8M and $15M in stations, including a new facility at South Porcupine to serve Timmins, and up to $35M for track upgrades.

Hiring has already begun for staff dedicated to passenger rail service, operations and maintenance, with Krystal Perepeluk appointed as Director of Passenger Rail and Customer Service in October. Krystal Perepeluk brings more than a decade of experience with GO Transit and Metrolinx to the role, and was also involved in preparing MTO’s Northern Ontario Multimodal Transportation Strategy.

Ontario Northland will share progress updates at https://ontarionorthland.ca/en/northlander-passenger-rail-updates

What next for advocacy?

So, what can we do as advocates while waiting three years for delivery of these trains? NEORN and Transport Action will continue to work closely with Ontario Northland and our elected representatives, along with the northeastern municipalities, Chambers of Commerce, First Nations, universities and colleges, and tourism offices from Washago to Moose Factory. We to ensure the passenger rail service is delivered on time and meets the needs of the many residents, visitors and businesses that will use the service; and to ensure that interest in riding the new service grows and grows.

We will also continue to advocate for the return of trains to the rest of northern Ontario, particularly the Algoma region, and the future of VIA Rail’s services in the region, which also need new equipment.

It remains unfortunate that the people of northeastern Ontario will have been deprived of their passenger train service for 14 years by the time the new equipment is delivered and the service can resume. The suddenness of the cut in 2012 and the utter lack of consultation by the Ontario Liberal government at that time will not be swiftly forgotten or forgiven, and attempts by Transport Action to obtain any documentation that would demonstrate evidence-based policy making came up empty handed:

“Due to the absence of methodologically sound research, there is no substantive basis to justify, support, maintain, retain, defend, uphold, stick with, promote, or otherwise find favour with the decisions to terminate The Northlander or to divest the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission.”

— Dr. Barry Wellar, Distinguished Research Fellow and Chair, ONR-ONTC Research Task Force, Transport Action Canada, January 2013

To stop other routes from suffering the same abrupt cuts,we must advocate for full public consultation before any future reductions in service, and for decisions to be made on the basis of sound research, fully considering the economic, social and community health implications in both the short term and over the longer term.


Lucille Frith spoke to Ontario Morning on CBC Radio Sudbury about the announcement: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-112-ontario-morning-from-cbc-radio/clip/15956313-passenger-trains-returning-northern-ontario


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