Tories put brakes on high-speed rail

The plan for a multibillion-dollar high-speed rail corridor is taking a detour as the Ford government considers studying other options, including increased Via Rail service, more bus capacity and highway upgrades.

The environmental assessment for the project will continue, but the Progressive Conservative government says it is expanding the scope of the studies for a high-speed rail corridor between Toronto and Windsor. NDP legislator Lisa Gretzky, who represents the riding of Windsor West, said Wednesday that her community will be disappointed at a delay in moving ahead with the project. “On the surface they say they’re supportive of high-speed rail but now they’re possibly looking at ways get out of their commitment,” Gretzky said of the government. “It’s definitely going backwards.” That move has pleased officials of one Southwestern Ontario county, who oppose the plan that was announced in London in May 20 by then Premier Kathleen Wynne. “The broadening of the EA to consider all options was obviously the direction the county wanted them to go in,” said Oxford County Warden David Mayberry. Oxford had been pushing for high-performance rail as a possible alternative, using existing rail corridors, rather than building a line that would cut through farms and private property.

“As we understand it, there’s a more viable, less expensive option to enhance particularly passenger travel in Southwestern Ontario that would in fact be more accessible to more people,” Mayberry said. “So it’s good to hear that. The county is going to want to be very involved in the EA, making sure we get our information to the province and into the process.” The previous Liberal government planned to connect Toronto to London by 2025 and extend the line to Windsor by 2031.

The Liberals committed $11 billion to high-speed rail in their final budget, delivered in March, but gave no final price tag for the project.

The Liberals promised trains would travel up to 250 kilometres per hour, cutting travel times between Toronto and Windsor from four hours to two. Wynne said the project would serve as an economic driver along a corridor home to more than seven million people and more than 60 per cent of Ontario’s economic activity. “It’s a huge project,” said PC Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek. “We’ve got to make sure we’re taking the right steps going forward.”

But Yurek said the previous government ignored the concerns of farmers, and said the Tories would consult with members of the agricultural sector.

An advisory board on the project, headed by former federal transportation minister David Collenette, has been disbanded, Yurek added.

Collenette, who was the government’s special adviser on high-speed rail, had concluded in a report released last year that there was a business case for the project. He wrote that it would alleviate pressure on the heavily travelled Highway 401, free up air travel capacity by lessening the need for short-haul flights and spur regional development. The mayor of Sarnia, which would stand to benefit from the project, said indications that the Tory government might be backing away from high-speed rail were disappointing, but he noted his community needs more short-term transportation options as well. “Sarnia has one train in and out a day,” said Mike Bradley. “Highspeed rail is a nice lofty dream and I’m a supporter of high-speed rail. I’m just trying to be realistic about what can happen now. I did not sense before, during or after the election that the new government was committed to it.”

Gerry Macartney, head of the London Chamber of Commerce, said he is not surprised by the turn of events.

“When you look at the number of areas they are curbing spending, (Doug Ford) will leave no stone unturned, including high-speed rail,” he said.

London Coun. Jesse Helmer, a longtime supporter of high-speed rail, said urban dwellers need to work with their rural neighbours to find a solution “that works for the whole region.” “High-speed rail and improving our connections to Kitchener-Waterloo and the other way to Windsor is critically important to London and its long-term economic success,” he said. “The government needs to look at a wider range for improving mobility in Southwestern Ontario. We need high-speed rail, but we also need intercity bus service to make sure people are connected to high-speed rail.”