The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) & the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development & Mines (MNDM) are currently developing a Multimodal Transportation Strategy for Northern Ontario (NOMTS). This initiative will define the improvements for the movement of people & goods over the next twenty five years, throughout the Cambrian Shield.
Our affiliate organization, the Northern and Eastern Ontario Rail Network (NEORN), together with Transport Action Ontario, have responded on behalf of numerous citizen groups in the province. The submission focusses on the importance and the need for frequent and reliable passenger trains & corresponding bus shuttle services in the region. A Multimodal Transportation Strategy for Northern Ontario must include passenger trains!
Northern Ontario is becoming more and more isolated. This severely inhibits new inward investment and access to the burgeoning, global tourism opportunity. Between 2011 & 2014, there have been over 674 highway closures in the Northeast region of the province. Communities have witnessed nine motor coach route reductions or service eliminations within the previous year. Connecting Northern Ontario with the rest of the province & the country is critical.
