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Peterborough Commuter Rail

In my humble opinion, the issue is not so much whether Peterborough should have a rail connection, but whether it is the most effective use of the money. I think there are many investments that would get much better bang for our transit buck. Why not just give GO the money and let them decide where it should be allocated? Makes more sense than having a politician decide to fund his pet project.
 
No agency is free of politics, so the idea of putting in the hands of GO (or Metrolinx) as a way of 'rationalizing' the project is likely just to change the type of politics around it.

In an ideal world projects would be weighed out according to specific criteria, evaluated for economic, environmental, and social benefits, have cost-benefit analysis applied, and probably re-evaluated every few years if the project was not yet underway too ensure the criteria was still accurate. But that is not how things actually work. And it isn't likely to be the case anytime soon either. Whether rail or transit there are so many projects that have enough merit to warrant being built that you will always have as many left behind as get picked up. In the GTA there are a lot of projects on the same scale as a Peterborough line that should also be done, such as upgrading the rail line to Hamilton and into Niagara Falls, or a high speed line (and by that I don't mean TGV, but rather something around 200 km/h) to Kitchener-Waterloo. In other regions you have projects such as service to Sherbrooke, or in the Ottawa region adding serving the western part of the area (such as Kanata, Carelton Place, and Perth) is another project.

Basically there are lots of under-served or unserved cities in the corridor that should have rail service and how this service comes about is really not all that important at this point. And really the order isn't all that important either. So long as in the medium most of the projects end up being built, that is really all that matters. The whole point of these projects is so that there is also a rail network that allows those not directly on the very linear Quebec-Windsor corridor to be able to use rail as well. And really when you consider the costs of these projects compared to other projects, such as all the GO projects in the GTA, or TGV service in the corridor, or all the urban public transit projects, it is pretty small, and would actually bring a lot of benefit.
 
Go bus a go for Peterborough: province

Posted By BRENDAN WEDLEY/Examiner Staff Writer

Posted 14 hours ago

The province plans to have GO Transit bus service in Peterborough by the fall, MPP Jeff Leal’s office announced yesterday.

“Today’s announcement means that Peterborough-area commuters will become part of GO Transit’s service area,†Leal stated in a release. “A GO bus service to Peterborough will benefit commuters, the economy and the environment.â€

The announcement comes a little more than a year after the province and federal government promised GO Transit bus service to Peterborough as part of a $195-million public transit capital trust announced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

GO Transit will look at a number of options on how to provide regular bus service to Peterborough, Leal said.

“It’s about the economy, it’s about business development, it’s about opportunities for people to enjoy facilities, plays, sports in the GTA and vice-versa for the people of the GTA to enjoy … the Peterborough area,†he said.

GO Transit currently services an 8,000-square-kilometre area, the provincial government states. Its service area will grow to include the Peterborough area and other regions outside the greater Toronto and Hamilton areas.

Leal said he hopes GO Transit implements a one-ticket system, which would allow a person who buys a bus ticket in Peterborough to get on a train in Oshawa without waiting in line to buy another ticket.

“We have to make it as convenient as possible for the travelling public,†he said.

The provincially funded transit service previously rejected extending bus service to Peterborough.

A Peterborough GO Transit bus service would carry 125 to 275 riders per day with revenue that would cover about 30 per cent of operating costs, a GO Transit study found in 2006.

Ridership would not grow significantly by 2025 and the capital cost would be about $9 million for additional buses and park-and-ride facilities, according to the study.

A Peterborough GO service would cost about $1.4 million per year to operate, the study found.

The province is working with the federal government on a number of transportation initiatives, including the expansion of the GO Transit system and the Highway 407 extension, Leal said.

“Metrolinx soon will be dealing with the feasibility-business case of the train network,†he said.

A Peterborough-Toronto commuter rail line remains a commitment of the federal government, Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro said.

“We can work towards getting passenger commuter rail up and running over the next couple of years,†he said. “We have to start building the infrastructure. I can’t see any reason why we can’t get to start building that rail infrastructure this year.â€

The GO Transit bus service supports the commuter rail line plan and enhances transit options, Del Mastro said.

“It’ll assist people in accessing the GO network until we can get our commuter rail line up and running,†he said. “We can start marketing Peterborough as a destination where people can live where they have access to good commuter options.â€

Ontario and the federal government committed as much as $150 million each in the Building Canada Fund agreement towards the Peterborough commuter rail line in July last year, contingent on the results of a study being done by Metrolinx.

A spokesperson from Metrolinx, formerly the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority, couldn’t be reached for comment yesterday.

bwedley@peterboroughexaminer.com

Article ID# 1510111

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1510111
 
I wonder how the Peterborough GO bus service will work. Right now, the Greyhound bus takes 1:45 to travel from downtown Peterborough to downtown Toronto with a very convenient stop at Scarborough Town Centre and a drop off at Richmond and Yonge for Financial district workers. A rush hour bus takes about 2:20. I imagine that a GO bus would leave Peterborough in the mornings and connect with an express GO train at Oshawa, so a full trip would probably take about 2 hours, including connection and wait times. This is marginally better than the Greyhound service, but it isn't a one seat ride and there are other disadvantages. For example, the Greyhound bus terminal at Bay and Dundas is conveniently located to downtown's other big trip generators, such as U of T, Ryerson, Ontario government buildings and the hospitals.

Also, I'm pretty sure that a GO terminal in Peterborough would be a shack in a parking lot somewhere out by Highway 7 and the Parkway. The downtown Greyhound depot is pretty convenient since downtown is the geographic centre of town and no more than a fifteen minute drive from anywhere in the city.

Finally, there's the price: 10 round trip Greyhound tickets from Ptbo to TO cost $192. To compare, two 10-ride tickets (10 round trips) from Union to Oshawa alone cost $146.50. I can't see how GO could tack on a 75 km bus service and be cost competitive without significantly subsidizing either the bus or the train leg of the trip.
 
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Word on the street is that they are in negotiation with Greyhound for space at the terminal. Failing this, I'm sure that a stop at the Peterborough Transit terminal (2 minutes from the Greyhound Terminal) in downtown could be established. I do think that the connection to the train will prove beneficial, as Oshawa is probably more of an employment centre for Peterborough than Downtown Toronto is.
 
I thought Greyhound and GO served the same terminal on Simcoe Street.

I could see a park-and-ride built somewhere near Fleming College (like the one at 401 and 6 in Aberfoyle) for both GO and Greyhound. Greyhound gets to use it for free as compensation for the potential loss of business.
 
Rail study on fast track
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1519595
Posted By BRENDAN WEDLEY , EXAMINER STAFF WRITER

Posted 2 days ago

A study on the proposed Peterborough- Toronto commuter rail service will be completed by the fall, an official from the agency responsible for the study told The Examiner Thursday.

"We want to accelerate our progress," said John Howe, the general manager of investment strategy and projects at Metrolinx.

"In studying the potential for the Peterborough train, it's pedal to the metal. We're doing this as quickly as we can," he said.

Ontario and the federal Conservative government committed as much as $150 million each in the Building Canada Fund agreement toward the Peterborough commuter rail line in July.

The funding is contingent on the results of the Metrolinx study.

The study will include a set of options, including the cost and benefit of each option, Howe said.

"It will be left to the federal and provincial governments jointly to decide how to act or react to those options," he said. "Our mandate is to figure out how to bring the train back to Peterborough in a financially responsible manner."

The Building Canada agreement the province and federal government signed in July states the parties "agree to make best efforts to complete the study within one year."

In December, MP Dean Del Mastro told The Examiner the study should be done by the end of April or sooner. In August, he said the study was due by the end of March.

Metrolinx is targeting for a fall 2009 completion, Howe said.

"It's a target date that our federal and provincial government partners have also been anticipating," he said.

Howe said the report will be given simultaneously to federal Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Minister John Baird and provincial Transportation Minister Jim Bradley.

Metrolinx is looking at issues such as potential ridership, revenue, the best rail technology for the service, level of service, frequency of trains, current track conditions and the cost to build train stations, Howe said.

"We want to generate the total estimated capital and operating costs of future rail service to Peterborough offset against the estimated revenues," he said.

The transportation agency is reviewing recent feasibility and technical studies on the corridor as part of its report, Howe said.

"We are indeed building on the existing body of work," he said.

A feasibility study done for GO Transit in 2007 on a possible train service extension to Peterborough from Toronto estimated the rail line would have carried 193,960 passengers in 2006.

In a report released in 2007, Del Mastro estimated the service would start with 903 daily commuters, saving an annual 469,560 one-way car trips to and from the Greater Toronto Area.

Del Mastro updated his report in May, saying new information showed there would be 979 riders per day.

GO Transit bus service to Peterborough that's supposed to start by the fall will be complementary to the proposed rail service, Howe said.

"The GO bus link, if anything, will help to build and grow the market," he said.

Article ID# 1519595
 
Progress being made on rail plan: MP
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1658431
Posted By ANDREA HOUSTON , EXAMINER STAFF WRITER

Posted 2 hours ago

A team from Transport Canada working on an implementation study to restore commuter rail service to Peterborough will present its findings to local officials next month, MP Dean Del Mastro said yesterday.

Del Mastro said he met with officials from Transport Canada in Ottawa yesterday and was given a presentation on the study so far.

"They are working through the process of implementing passenger rail," he said. "I was pleasantly surprised with how much progress they have made over the last several months."

Del Mastro said Transport Canada will make the same presentation to local municipal representatives at the 2009 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) annual conference next month in Ottawa.

"Once they hear what has been done, and what will be done between now and then as well, they will be very satisfied with the amount of progress and the amount of commitment that is going into this project," he said.

A local delegation will be sent to AMO, usually made up of Mayor Paul Ayotte, Warden Ron Gerow, city chief administrator Linda Reed, county chief administrator Gary King and MPP Jeff Leal, Del Mastro said.

Transport Canada is working with a "company" on the implementation study, he said. Del Mastro refused to reveal the name of the company. "I was very happy with who it is, I can tell you that," he said. More details will be released soon, he said.

The company is working on a traffic plan for the track in consultation with CP Rail, he said. It is also looking at the number of riders and how the service should be implemented.

"They are assessing the extent of the repair required for the tracks, overpasses, bridges," he said. "They are assessing it to the dime how much it will cost."

Both levels of government set aside $150 million, he said. "It's not going to cost that much," he said. Full details of the assessment will be released to the public after the AMO briefing, he said.

The commuter rail link was promised in the 2008 federal budget and confirmed in the Canada-Ontario Building Canada framework agreement last July, Del Mastro said.
 
I see SNC Lavalin between the lines due to him saying "a company" rather than "an agency". They will have the right-sized rolling stock, the route passes the potential site of the Pickering Airport, and while far less frequent could still be marketed as a good way to connect to the airport as well as Toronto. Saving people the drive across Toronto to the airport by putting a station in Scarborough or east Markham might be marketable too.
 
^ They only said the "company" was doing an implementation study. I took that to mean they are drafting a BCA or doing rough order of magnitude estimate. I have doubts that Metrolinx would agree to fork over 150 million for rail service to Peterborough. But a line to serve Seaton is on the books and maybe it's paying for that portion and the feds and any future private operator will rehabilitate the tracks and operate any service beyond there.
 
When, not if’
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1705378
Peterborough-Toronto commuter rail service: Delegation hears update on study of project at AMO conference

Posted By ANDREA HOUSTON/Examiner Staff Writer

Posted 14 mins ago

It’s now a question of whether Peterborough-Toronto commuter train riders will end their journey at Summerhill Station in Scarborough or Union Station in Toronto, says Mayor Paul Ayotte.

A local delegation was given an update on the progress of the Transport Canada implementation study of the rail project at the 2009 Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) annual conference, which wraps up today in Ottawa.

Ayotte, who spoke to The Examiner before heading back to Peterborough, said the report was very positive.

“They seem very committed to doing the rail project,†he said.

“They said, ‘It’s not if, it’s when.’â€

Once the report is completed and released in October, Ayotte said, the work should begin in the spring or summer.

The community can expect the train, hopefully, by 2012, he said.

The Transport Canada officials mostly talked about the work that needs to be done on the tracks, particularly with the rail bed, he said.

“They need all welded tracks now so the trains can go faster, so they are pricing that in,†Ayotte said.

Canadian Pacific, through its subsidiary Kawartha Lakes Railway, operates the historic rail line between Havelock and Union Station, he said.

The tracks pass through communities such as Peterborough, Cavan, Pontypool, Myrtle, Claremont in Pickering, Agincourt in Scarborough and Leaside.

One of the big-ticket items will be construction work to the Agincourt station, where a lot of freight trains intersect, he said.

“This line goes through a rail yard (at Agincourt), so they may have to put up an overpass or something for the different trains,†he said.

“The train has to go through Agincourt.â€

Also, the train may end up going to Summerhill Station in Toronto rather than down to Union Station, he said, allowing riders to take the subway downtown from there.

“If you’ve been to Union Station lately, you’ll see it’s getting pretty busy with all the extra trains going in and out, so there’s limited space down there,†Ayotte said.

“So, Summerhill may be the best place for it.

“It’s a question whether it goes down to Union Station or stays up high at Summerhill.â€

Ayotte said it’s estimated to cost about $20 million to do the work required to Agincourt Station.

“A lot of the freight that comes from Montreal goes through Agincourt,†he said.

“It’s a very busy yard, so to put high speed passenger train in there would be pretty difficult.â€

Repairs on whole line will cost about $150 million, he said.

“The whole line basically has to be rebuilt, he said. “We’ll do it in sections.â€

The freight services that currently use the lines in and out of Peterborough will not be disrupted while construction takes place, he said.

“That’s one thing that they were really concerned about, not disrupting the services to Toronto that were already there,†he said.

The local delegation sent to the AMO was made up of Ayotte, MP Dean Del Mastro, Warden Ron Gerow, Coun. Ann Farquharson, Cavan Monaghan Reeve Neal Cathcart, Norwood Reeve Doug Pearcy, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Coun. Larry Ellis and City of Kawartha Lakes Mayor Ric McGee.

Ayotte arrived in Ottawa for the AMO Saturday night, he said.

After a meeting with other mayors on Sunday, he met with officials from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Minister of Labour, he said.

Yesterday he heard Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty speak. McGuinty told the mayors that combining the federal GST and the provincial sales tax is good for business.

“It was a feel-good message because Ontario has been through some challenges,†Ayotte said.

“He feels the single tax gives our businesses the chance to compete globally.â€

McGuinty also encouraged the group to support Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s efforts to convince President Barack Obama that buying exclusively American products is not good for America or Canada, he said.

“He just encouraged the municipalities to work togetr with the province,†he said. “It was generally a rally-the-troops message.â€

ahouston@peterboroughexaminer.com
 
Not going to Union would be a mistake. At some point running some rush-hour trains to Summerhill will make sense but it makes the most sense on a line which has all-day service to Union and beefed up rush-hour services (eventually Milton line and Georgetown line). Not having the option of Union station is no way to start a new service.
 
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