You say that as though laying new track would not cost LOTS of $$$. I love trains but this idea seems overkill (a sort of rural Scarborough subway). Providing a better and far more frequent bus service would surely be the first stage and far cheaper to start and expand bus by bus. Only when the demand is shown to be there would rail be a feasible and cost-effective idea.
Check out the cost for relaying the GO line from Bradford to Barrie. I don't have it handy, but it was substantial, several millions of dollars per mile.... even though the roadbed and civil structures were retained.
As much as I like the idea also, the cost would just never be recoverable. It's a situation where you could provide a free bus ride to every rider for a decade or more.
The only hope for this line would be if Collingwood justified renewed freight service, and I see little hope of this.
Now, if there were good early day GO train service to Barrie, and buses directly to specific resorts as well as downtown Collingwood and Wasaga, you could probably attract lots of picnicers by summer and skiers by winter. Then you could fill in the shoulder season with festivals or whatever. It would appeal to the "carless living downtown" market mostly.
Unfortunately, for people living in the burbs, you'd have to drive your car to Maple or Downsview to catch the train.....and once you've gone that far, it will mostly be more convenient to just keep driving. So other than maybe long weekends when the cottage-bound traffic is heavy, you won't get people from the 905 or even Etobicoke/Scarboro jumping to use it.
I do wonder about the potential for a shore-road transit bus from way up Georgian Bay down to Collingwood and Barrie. As with Muskoka, there are lots of people living up there year-round or summer-long who might find it better than driving.
- Paul