Switzerland’s rail system puts Ontario to shame

Re Will high-speed rail be worth it for Ontario?, Cohn, May 25

Martin Regg Cohn is having second thoughts about high-speed rail in southern Ontario. The population density in southern Ontario is at least as great as that in other parts of the world that have extensive passenger rail networks. For example, Switzerland.

Switzerland covers a land area slightly larger than the Greater Golden Horseshoe, roughly the area that embraces Niagara, Hamilton, Kitchener, the GTA, Barrie, Peterborough, Cobourg and points in between. But Switzerland is less densely populated than the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

Nevertheless, as anyone who has travelled there can attest, trains run everywhere in Switzerland. And they’re fast and frequent. As a result, the Swiss are the world’s champions when it comes to per-capita rail ridership.

And unlike in southern Ontario, Swiss trains need to run up, down, through and around mountains, requiring huge construction expenditures.

When it comes to trains, Switzerland is the little country that could. David White, Toronto