High Frequency Rail project is on the right track

6/26/2019

"This week's announcement represents a transition from what has been a proof-of concept, or feasibility stage, to implementation. Just like you wouldn’t buy a house without a home inspection, the Government needs to check a number of boxes before they can confidently commit to a multi-
billion-dollar expenditure.” says Stuart Harrison, President & CEO, Peterborough Chamber of Commerce. “There are a lot of people in Peterborough who have been working on this project."

The federal government and the Canada Infrastructure Bank have committed $71.1 million to complete additional planning activities over the next two years to advance VIA Rail’s proposal for High Frequency Rail (HFR) in the Quebec City-Toronto Corridor.

The Joint Project Team, between Canada Infrastructure Bank and VIA Rail, will be established using the $55 million in funding from Canada Infrastructure Bank. This Joint Project Team will coordinate the next steps required in developing this project, focusing on the following activities throughout 2019 to 2020:

finalizing legal and regulatory work related to safety and environmental assessments;
consulting with stakeholders and Indigenous communities;
examining required land and track acquisition; and
completing the technical, financial and commercial analysis required for a final investment decision on High Frequency Rail in the Corridor.

$16.1 million will fund technical work to be conducted by the Joint Project Team to ensure the
interoperability and integration of High Frequency Rail with operating tracks used by local and regional transit providers in Montreal and Toronto.

“This project would bring significant economic growth to our community and the affected regions along the corridor,” said Maryam Monsef, MP Peterborough-Kawartha. “It also requires a significant investment. That’s why we have taken each step forward in a measured, thoughtful way. We are not interested in
creating buzz that leads to no results.”

It’s also important to understand the history of the project. Creating a passenger rail service from Peterborough to Toronto had a very rough start, almost instantly mired in politics.

"The Chamber helped to create an independent not-for-profit corporation – the Shining Waters Railway, with a volunteer Board of Directors. The NFP status allowed us to attract a Federal/Provincial funding envelope that generated the makings of a plan and a pre-engineering study," says Harrison. "It was that study that landed on the CEO’s desk at VIA Rail, and it was then that VIA Rail saw the opportunity to create something that would allow them to fundamentally change the way they had been approaching their core market – Quebec City to Toronto.The VIA Rail HFR concept is nothing like the Shining Waters Board ever dreamt of. It is multiple trains per day, running from Quebec City to Montreal, to Ottawa, to Toronto, and back. Peterborough just happens to be a stop on that line, and thank goodness for that.”

News Release

Marc Lemieux

6/28/2019 07:32:12 pm

I hate to put a damper on Via Rail's HFR project, but shouldn't passenger rail proponents ask themselves as to why the federal Liberals chose to make this announcement, without providing a final, firm commitment to this project, near the very end of their mandate even though they were, in large part, elected four years ago on a platform based on significant spending for infrastructure, which includes Via Rail, so as to improve mobility, ease gridlock and also help the environment?

Let us not forget the recent past whereby the Wynne government similarly proposed a high speed rail project that never came to pass due to the provincial Liberals being soundly defeated in the election!

I truly hope that Via Rail's HFR actually gets approved and subsequently built as soon as possible since the entire Peterborough region needs this project for future economic growth and prosperity as a result of increased mobility.

I just would like to remind people that this announcement may have political undertones which suggest that Via Rail's HFR may not materialize at all in the immediate future due to the federal Liberals' continuous delays evidenced in the past four years, using a politically convenient and effective technique encompassing the supposed need for one study after another, along with the complete absence of an unequivocal endorsement for this project.

Spending a mere 71 million dollars for yet another study, in order to appease the hopes and wishes of the passenger rail community, rather than a full-blown expenditure of four to six billion for the complete HFR project prior to a federal election, would be politically beneficial and effective in the short-term so as to cement a significant block of votes along towns and cities affected by this new HFR route!

As such, I recommend that passenger rail proponents maintain their suspicions and hence, continue advocating with renewed conviction for this highly-awaited and anticipated venture until an actual confirmation is communicated by the federal government!

Passenger rail advocates have had their hopes and dreams dashed for decades by the political process to simply take announcements, devoid of commitment, at face value!

It's no wonder that we have so much skepticism and cynicism in today's world!

I hope that I'm wrong!

Stu Harrison

6/29/2019 05:57:54 pm

Thanks for your comment Marc, I too hope you are wrong. As someone who has been involved from the very beginning, I've witnessed my share of political games over the issue of passenger rail. But I've also been involved with a core group of people, Tony Smith, Dick Crawford, Jim Hill among them, who were never political, and were always pushing for something to happen. Fortunately something did happen, we got the attention of VIA Rail, who realized that there was an another way to provide better service to their core market from Quebec City to Toronto , by using an alternate route.
As much as VIS's HFR plan has been studied, this weeks announcement feels different to me. The establishment of a project office and joint project team (between the Infrastructure Bank and VIA Rail) is a strong sign that the project has shifted from feasibility to planning. For me, the strongest quote on Tuesday came from the President and CEO of the Canada Infrastructure Bank. I think it was in the Ottawa Globe and Mail:

“This is far more than a study,” Mr. Lavallée said in an interview on Tuesday. “I think it’s important to make the difference between studies and detailed planning and preprocurement activities. This is a lot more detail, a lot more specific. This is what leads to being able to call for tenders on construction and having people who perform that work being willing to commit to a certain work package and pricing and so on.”

I'm going to remain positive, that the announcement this week is the most significant so far, in a process to rethink passenger rail service, and establish a new VIA route that would include Peterborough.

6/29/2019 09:23:37 pm

Dear Mr. Harrison:

After having travelled with my wife to five continents and having experienced modern, effective, efficient, speedy and environmentally-friendly passenger rail in other countries, haven't you ever wondered as to why projects pertaining to passenger rail actually end up being built tremendously fast in these countries compared with Canada whereby we discuss and analyze passenger rail improvement projects incessantly to no end?

Ultimately, one must come to the sad realization or conclusion that political interference must be the root cause of the continuing deterioration of passenger rail in Canada whereby equipment nearly 70 years old is still being used!

And, of course, we attempt to justify these passenger rail improvement delays by using lame excuses such as 'our population simply isn't large enough to justify subsidies' (not terms such as 'investments' used to explain expenditures not only for road construction and maintenance but also for airport construction and expansion) even though the actual population in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor is more than sufficient to support HFR, or even HSR, for that matter.

The other prevailing excuse that is used to dismiss passenger rail improvements is the mistaken premise that the construction of dedicated trackage is too expensive to afford, which totally dismisses the very fact that electric passenger trains are vastly more comfortable, quicker, more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly than the typical automobile which is dependent on road infrastructure that costs from 25 to 30 billion a year for maintenance and construction!

Since modern passenger rail has been around for decades in other countries, it is actually taken for granted just like air travel in North America.

In our country, mixed signals continue to be leaked to news sources whereby hopes are raised such as on federal budget night whereby an announcement of a federal approval of Via Rail's HFR was expected, although, sadly, none was forthcoming nor even mentioned!

Not one single kilometer of dedicated track has been laid although tens of millions of dollars have already been spent on study after study throughout the past 30 years or so!

I find this appalling, shameful, unacceptable and completely irresponsible, considering that the construction of HFR, comprising electrically-powered trains and infrastructure, would help to significantly reduce carbon emissions that are having such a detrimental effect on our planet!

As such, please forgive me for not naively giving in to these carefully-crafted announcements containing a subtle political agenda that entirely dismisses our society's dire need for improved mobility and connectivity!

I'm normally a person with a positive outlook on life and various interests but, unfortunately, I've been disappointed time after time on the subject of passenger rail in this country for far too long to be suddenly swayed into believing that this time will supposedly be different for this HFR project!

I've reached a point in my life whereby I'll only believe it when I see it when it comes to passenger rail in our country.

And, increasingly, I'm not alone in my thinking in that other Canadians who have also traveled extensively, have come to the same conclusion, that certain forces are at play here circumventing any supposed improvements to passenger rail in Canada!

And this has absolutely nothing to do with negativity, but rather, on the contrary, factual evidence comprising endless studies that went nowhere, even though they made perfect sense and would benefit our quality of life considerably!

I nonetheless wish you all the best in your efforts and commend you with your personal convictions and initiatives!

I, on the other hand, have now retired and will, from now on, turn to other interests rather than focusing, in vain, on continued efforts to improve passenger rail in this country.

With Warm Regards,

Marc Lemieux

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High Frequency Rail project is on the right track

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