There’s also a major difference in function. Algonquin is a wilderness area that is already being stressed by the number of visitors. Muskoka/Parry Sound is somewhat densely populated as a recreational area, but mostly as a residential area involving multi day stays rather than one-day attractions, and requiring a fairly spread out first/last mile connection (that doesn’t exist today). These are not locations where one can deliver a thousand-person daytripper train service as we are doing with Niagara.
As a first step, we should be looking for weekend/holiday rail service to places that can absorb visitors in volume and have both amenities and infrastructure to absorb those visitors - Barrie, Kitchener, Stratford, London, Peterborough (assuming HFR some day fixes the tracks), Cobourg, and possibly even Kingston would all make great daytripper destinations for GTA residents.
Then we can look at the branches that could be added that would add to this, and the related business opportunities that could be developed eg overnight stays, multi day packages, etc. These additions might be doable some day, but should not happen until the critical mass of 2WAD lines is built.
I am old enough to remember the Elmira Sugar Bush Specials and the excursion trains to various country festivals and I would dearly love to ride a bike train to, say, Inglewood. But I’m not sure a thousand people alighting at the Credit Forks with their bikes would work well without a lot of planned investment. We aren’t there yet, but hopefully it’s coming.
- Paul
