Shining Waters Railway proposal still being evaluated by federal, provincial governments; decision not expected until after federal election 0
By
Jason Bain, The Peterborough Examiner
Wednesday, July 15, 2015 12:52:27 EDT AM
Shining Waters Railway is in a holding pattern with a decision on whether or not passenger rail service will return to Peterborough now not expected until after October's federal election, board president Tony Smith said Tuesday.
"We're entering election mode now ... I think we just have to bide our time," he said. "Not much is going to happen until after the election, which is disappointing."
The proposal is still being evaluated by the provincial and federal governments, both of which must grant approval in order for the project to move forward.
The group had anticipated a decision in May or June. Unfortunately, these kind of projects tend to be put on the "back burner" when election time comes rolling around, Smith said.
"I'm extremely disappointed," he said.
The passenger and freight train service on the railway line between Toronto and Havelock had been the vision of former MP Dean Del Mastro. After his resignation in November, Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MP Conservative MP Barry Devolin took over championing the cause.
Shining Waters' board of directors has satisfied all of its obligations by submitting all of the required documents, such as a comprehensive engineering study, that are needed for officials to make a regulatory decision, Smith said.
The board brought Premier Kathleen Wynne up to speed on the proposal when she visited the city in May, he said, adding how it has communicated regularly with Devolin.
The board, which meets every second month, encourages anyone who wishes to pen a letter of support to do so to Shining Waters care of the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce.
"There has been a tremendous amount of support from the community," Smith said.
It is unknown how the project, which was not mentioned in either government's budgets introduced in April, may or may not be impacted after Parliament voted against Bill C-640, which would have given Via Rail Canada protection with amendments to the Canada Transportation Act.
The private members bill would have granted passenger trains priority over freight trains, required Via to seek approval from Parliament before eliminating service routes and established a clear mandate for the company, according to New Democrat MP Philip Toone, who introduced it Feb. 20.
Studies have projected that there could be as many as 950 passengers in each direction with two trains to Toronto in the morning and two return trips in the evening, Monday to Friday plus reduced weekend services.
In July 2008, the federal government and province each committed as much as $150 million toward restoring the Havelock-Peterborough-Toronto commuter rail service.
An independent consulting firm hired by Metrolinx, a provincial transportation agency that oversees GO Transit, then pegged the cost of the commuter rail link to be at least $541 million in a report released in May 2010.
Del Mastro disputed some of the findings in the Metrolinx report before Shining Waters commissioned its own study, findings from which were released in January 2011.
That's when the former MP outlined his $233-million plan that included refurbishing the track, building or upgrading six train stations and platforms along the line, repairing bridges and buying rail cars. He asserted the railway would be running on Canada Day 2014.
The federal election is set for Oct. 19.
jason.bain@sunmedia.ca
