Former minister to chair high-speed rail advisory board
KITCHENER — High-speed rail in Ontario took another step forward with the appointment of the planning advisory board chair.
Cambridge MPP and Minister of Transportation Kathryn McGarry announced Tuesday that David Collenette, former federal minister of transport and the province’s special adviser for high-speed rail, will lead the board.
“Mr. Collenette will continue to provide strategic support and advise government on this landmark project,” McGarry said at a news conference at the Waterloo Region Museum.
The high-speed rail line is planned to connect Toronto to Windsor, with stops in Waterloo Region and Guelph along the way and a connection to Pearson International Airport.
“High-speed rail is expected to cut travel times in half,” McGarry said.
She said the innovative transportation system — which will reach speeds at up to 250 km/h — will connect communities and give people another transit option.
“This is a landmark project. It has never been done before in Canada,” she said.
Collenette said high-speed rail is “really necessary” to keep up with growth in the province that’s putting a strain on transportation infrastructure, and his study shows there’s a great business case for it.
“All the fundamentals are there to make this project a success,” Collenette said.
Waterloo Region would be included in the first phase from Toronto to London, which is slated to start service in 2025. The second phase, expected for about 2030, will reach Windsor.
“Seven years to pull this off, I think, is a really achievable timeline, but a lot of work has to be done,” Collenette said.
He said an environmental assessment is about to be launched and will take upward of two years. “That’s very important so everyone can have their say,” he said.
Collenette told media after the announcement that ridership projections support high-speed rail and he expressed confidence in the project. “I’m convinced it’s going to be done and it’s going to be done within the timeline,” he said.
Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris called the announcement more “empty promises” from Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Liberal party.
“It’s the second election in a row that the Wynne Liberals have attempted to lure voters with high speed dreams,” Harris said in a news release.
He added that Waterloo Region is still waiting for all-day, twoway GO service to Toronto promised in the last election. “We just want the trains to get us to and from Toronto.”
Kitchener-Waterloo MPP Catherine Fife echoed that in an open letter to McGarry on Tuesday, asking her to commit to funding and a deadline for the promised GO train service.
“People in our community have been waiting nearly a decade for all-day, two-way GO,” Fife wrote in her letter.