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Barrie Collingwood Railway (BCRY)

lenaitch said:
A Simcoe County-operated bus service isn't going to serve Owen Sound, so it would be down to GO. A rail line to Owen Sound from from the east would be completely greenfield west of Meaford and have to climb the escarpment. Regardless, I'd have to be convinced there is enough ridership to/from Owen Sound to justify much more than a daily service.
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Considering after Greyhound ended there is no service, something is better than nothing. That route is known for snow squalls in the winter so staying on schedule is going to be tough.
 
lenaitch said:
A Simcoe County-operated bus service isn't going to serve Owen Sound, so it would be down to GO. A rail line to Owen Sound from from the east would be completely greenfield west of Meaford and have to climb the escarpment. Regardless, I'd have to be convinced there is enough ridership to/from Owen Sound to justify much more than a daily service.
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If we look at it only in terms of rail, then yes, it would be silly to extend GO to Owen Sound. However, if we are looking at the serving of the people of Ontario, (GO stands for Government of Ontario) it would make sense to do that, and more. Mind you, you can get to Owen Sound and further by reactivating old rail lines.
 
micheal_can said:
If we look at it only in terms of rail, then yes, it would be silly to extend GO to Owen Sound. However, if we are looking at the serving of the people of Ontario, (GO stands for Government of Ontario) it would make sense to do that, and more. Mind you, you can get to Owen Sound and further by reactivating old rail lines.
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In that case, I vote for GO connecting the Kenora/TBay/SSM/Sudbury/North Bay corridor and re-laying track to connect Teeswater. They're taxpayers too.
 
lenaitch said:
In that case, I vote for GO connecting the Kenora/TBay/SSM/Sudbury/North Bay corridor and re-laying track to connect Teeswater. They're taxpayers too.
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Funny thing is...they kinda are. Ontario Northland is now under Metrolinx and the ON Bus runs from Winnipeg to Toronto/Ottawa through all of those cities.

So, yes, GO is serving those areas.It makes no sense that GO bus has not expanded beyond Barrie.
 
micheal_can said:
Funny thing is...they kinda are. Ontario Northland is now under Metrolinx and the ON Bus runs from Winnipeg to Toronto/Ottawa through all of those cities.

So, yes, GO is serving those areas.It makes no sense that GO bus has not expanded beyond Barrie.
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But the fleet pool and driver pool is not the same.
 
Bordercollie said:
Considering after Greyhound ended there is no service, something is better than nothing. That route is known for snow squalls in the winter so staying on schedule is going to be tough.
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There is a daily service between Owen Sound and Collingwood. It just requires making transfers at Blue Mountain and possibly Meaford.

I’ve done it, too.

I think what is needed is weekend Simcoe County Linx service between Wasaga Beach and Barrie (the Wasaga-Collingwood bus runs daily), and more seamless connections, including a better fare arrangement for transferring between SCL and GO.

seanmarshall.ca

A transit tour of central Ontario

A round trip from Toronto via Guelph, Owen Sound, and Barrie is the longest trip one can take using only local and regional transit services. Despite these new links, there is room for improvement.
seanmarshall.ca seanmarshall.ca
 
ShonTron said:
There is a daily service between Owen Sound and Collingwood. It just requires making transfers at Blue Mountain and possibly Meaford.

I’ve done it, too.

I think what is needed is weekend Simcoe County Linx service between Wasaga Beach and Barrie (the Wasaga-Collingwood bus runs daily), and more seamless connections, including a better fare arrangement for transferring between SCL and GO.

seanmarshall.ca

A transit tour of central Ontario

A round trip from Toronto via Guelph, Owen Sound, and Barrie is the longest trip one can take using only local and regional transit services. Despite these new links, there is room for improvement.
seanmarshall.ca seanmarshall.ca
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All in good time. The Linx service has only been around since 2018. We taxpayers can only handle so much. :)
 
It is my understanding that rail-banking was a key reason why the County bought the abandoned portion of the ROW. It would have been difficult to 'pave over' regardless as there is a large watermain easement from Collingwood servicing New Tecumseth, but they could have lost surface ownership.
 
micheal_can said:
Until there is a demand for rail, this is a good idea. It keeps the ROW intact, unlike the waterfront of Barrie.
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Rail trails never or rarely ever get turned back into rail. Once they are trails, consider the rail dead. NIMBYISM and other politics make it next to impossible to turn back into transit.
 
robmausser said:
Rail trails never or rarely ever get turned back into rail. Once they are trails, consider the rail dead. NIMBYISM and other politics make it next to impossible to turn back into transit.
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That may be true, but a good argument against your point is the Havelock Subdivision.
 
micheal_can said:
That may be true, but a good argument against your point is the Havelock Subdivision.
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Well, that remains to be seen, doesn't it. There will be much gnashing of teeth, being the Trans-Canada Trail and all. Don't discount NIMBYism. BCR had to deal with that when they simply stored new, empty, never-been-used tank cars west of Utopia in a section that backed onto some homes. They were ugly, apparently.
 
lenaitch said:
Well, that remains to be seen, doesn't it. There will be much gnashing of teeth, being the Trans-Canada Trail and all. Don't discount NIMBYism. BCR had to deal with that when they simply stored new, empty, never-been-used tank cars west of Utopia in a section that backed onto some homes. They were ugly, apparently.
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I like to feel that all hop is not lost when the rails are removed. It is when the land is used such that the ROW is broken up and is no longer continuous. If the Havelock Sub is restored and used, and some sort of compromise with the trails groups is reached, we can have hope this sub can be returned to when the time is right.
 
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