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Barrie Collingwood Railway (BCRY)

Nothing like a 55km ride to work to start your day. The article cites that 15000 residents in the 'Stayner-New Lowell' area could you the trail. Many of them must be hiding: Stayner is about 4K and New Lowell a couple of hundred. Heck, the entire township isn't quite 15K and a lot of them are no where near the ROW. The County bought the ROW to land-bank it, so I would assume they are on board.
 
Allandale25 said:
Latest article here.
Click to expand...

Update:

"Following discussions between the City of Barrie and Cando Rail Services Ltd I have been instructed to send this letter as the formal withdrawal of the Application for Zoning By-law Amendment that was filed last fall for the Utopia rail yard of the BCRY.
Both Simcoe County as co-owner of the rail yard and the City of Barrie are currently co-funding a study that will assess market potential to attract new business given current infrastructure, industry interests, zoning parameters, and the general macroeconomic environment of short line rail service across Ontario. The Study will determine the economic benefits and liabilities of the BCRY.

A Zoning By-Law Amendment Application may be forthcoming once the City of Bathe and the County of Simcoe have reviewed the study and have a better understanding of the market potential that may affect an application for a re-zoning of the rail yard."
 

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Allandale25 said:
Update:

"Following discussions between the City of Barrie and Cando Rail Services Ltd I have been instructed to send this letter as the formal withdrawal of the Application for Zoning By-law Amendment that was filed last fall for the Utopia rail yard of the BCRY.
Both Simcoe County as co-owner of the rail yard and the City of Barrie are currently co-funding a study that will assess market potential to attract new business given current infrastructure, industry interests, zoning parameters, and the general macroeconomic environment of short line rail service across Ontario. The Study will determine the economic benefits and liabilities of the BCRY.

A Zoning By-Law Amendment Application may be forthcoming once the City of Bathe and the County of Simcoe have reviewed the study and have a better understanding of the market potential that may affect an application for a re-zoning of the rail yard."
Click to expand...

Great heads up. I don't fully understand this motion to be honest. Does it mean that the bulk fuel transfer facility is dead?
 
lenaitch said:
As far as I have heard, yes.

Apparently some of the township residents also don't like brand new, clean tank cars being stored on parts of the line.
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Indeed, they have been complaining about them for quite some time, perhaps 3 years or more. There has even been misinformation posted and spread about the potential for explosions from empty, never used equipment.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 
Allandale25 said:
www.barrietoday.com

Plans underway to give abandoned railway corridor a facelift

County of Simcoe considering conversion of Barrie-Collingwood line into a multi-use trail; Construction cost is estimated at $4.7M
www.barrietoday.com www.barrietoday.com
Click to expand...

I thought the original rationale for the county purchase was for rail-banking, but I suppose in the interim a trail does put the corridor to some use. I am told that the remaining portion is 'close' to being revenue-neutral and they would dearly love to get just one or two more customers. I've never quite understood why they didn't push the GO terminus out to the west end of Barrie - Tiffin/Ferndale area. Lots of open ground and it would have drawn a lot of traffic congestion away from the downtown.
 
I'd still love for some sort of passenger service to Collingwood, it's a shame the line was in such poor condition and is now abandoned.

Getting 90mph track along here would have made the train extremely competitive due to the lack of a proper freeway connection to Collingwood, significantly slowing vehicle journeys.
 
innsertnamehere said:
I'd still love for some sort of passenger service to Collingwood, it's a shame the line was in such poor condition and is now abandoned.

Getting 90mph track along here would have made the train extremely competitive due to the lack of a proper freeway connection to Collingwood, significantly slowing vehicle journeys.
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I think that line w/a spur, this works as Toronto get-away line serving Blue Mountain, Collingwood and Wasaga Beach.

I think it makes eminent sense.

Obviously there's a substantial upgrade cost, so I'm not sure the business case is there in conventional terms.

But the value of not building a new freeway or six-lane road into that area, and letting it be scenic/resort country close to the City, and accessible to those who don't drive just seems so valuable.
 
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Northern Light said:
I think that line w/a spur, this works as Toronto get-away line serving Blue Mountain, Collingwood and Wasaga Beach.

I think it makes eminent sense.

Obviously there's a substantial upgrade cost, so I'm not sure the business case is there in conventional terms.

But the value of not building a new freeway or six-lane road into that area, and letting it be scenic/resort country close to the City, and accessible to those who don't drive just seems so valuable.
Click to expand...

I am wondering if Blue Mountain Resort could invest in a station and help cover costs just like Woodbine did for the Woodbine station coming up. A morning and night GO train to and from the area especially on weekends would see a lot of skiiers from Toronto area.
 
With no freight competition, wouldn't cheaper single DMU's be a possibility on this line, much like has been used on Ottawa's Trillium Line?
 
lrt's friend said:
With no freight competition, wouldn't cheaper single DMU's be a possibility on this line, much like has been used on Ottawa's Trillium Line?
Click to expand...

Hard to say. Sometimes I wonder if its cheaper to just have an already scheduled GO Train continue from Allandale Waterfront down the line than servicing a whole new train/crew etc.

At least if the cost is only a bit more for option a, people prefer it than a transfer.
 
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