As high-speed rail and other glitzy infrastructure promises are made by the new federal government, a group of transportation advocates hope Via Rail isn’t left out of the picture.
The group, called Transport Action Canada, released a report Friday calling for $5 billion to be spent on expanding Via service over the next 10 years.
Their plan includes new trains and increased trip frequency across the country.
“Our new prime minister said ‘In Canada, better is always possible.’ I’d like to think this (plan) is better. This is a better way to run Via, to fund it,” organizer Greg Gormick said at the report’s release.
The Perth County community of St. Marys was chosen as the site for the report to be made public, in part because of that community’s battle to preserve Via service.
St. Marys has seen drastic cuts to its passenger routes over the last few years.
When an early-morning train from Stratford to Toronto was announced earlier this year, St. Marys was left out of the picture.
Passenger rail has been in the news recently with the provincial government appointing former federal transport minister David Collenette to develop a business case for a high-speed rail route along the Highway 401 corridor.
Gormick dismissed high-speed rail as “a dream for the distant future,” and said even a completed high-speed rail line would ignore smaller communities.
“High-speed rail wouldn’t be a service for St. Marys or Stratford or Woodstock or Brantford,” he said.
His ideas struck a chord with Alizon Sharun, who moved from Toronto to St. Marys earlier this year.
She says she enjoys Via trains for their comfortable ride, and for not having to worry about parking at her destination.
“I don’t really like driving on the highways, and I’m going back to Toronto every few weeks,” she said.
A Via rail spokesperson said that company executives have already read the group’s report and had implemented many of its suggestions prior to its release.
