Transport Action Canada Hot Line

15 January 2010

This is the Transport Action Hotline, issue number 1055, for 15 January 2010.

In this issue...

1 - Calendar

2 - Acadian wants to ditch run from Kentville to Digby, reduce service to Sydney

"Transportation options in southwestern Nova Scotia are disappearing as Acadian Lines seeks to cut its rural bus routes. The Montreal-based bus company (...) said it lost $1.6 million on its Maritime routes in 2009 and plans to shift its focus to urban areas in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. ... Transport 2000 Atlantic, a public transportation advocacy group, is concerned about the reduction in bus service. "All our regional rail service disappeared 19 years ago and now the bus service seems threatened too," said president John Pearce. Mr. Pearce said there should be government support for buses, in the same way other modes of public transportation are funded," the Chronicle-Herald reported on Jan. 13.

"We spend a great deal of money on roads and (issues of) climate change and the fuel supply. I think we have to prepare to see quite a restriction on private automobile traffic," the Chronicle-Herald's Gordon Delaney reported.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1162028.html

3 - Delays could cost London-Toronto rail line infrastructure cash, Transport Action says

"In 2007, the federal government announced a $523 million investment in VIA Rail Canada designed to modernize its services. One of the key components was the upgrading of the Goderich-Exeter Railway's Georgetown-Kitchener-Stratford-London track. As reported in the Fall 2009 issue of VIALOGUE, VIA's employee magazine, this program to upgrade track, signals and high crossings was expected to cost $44 million and would allow VIA to reduce trip times over this line by 20 minutes and allow the doubling of the number of trains to six round trips per day," the presidents of Transport Action Canada and Transport Action Ontario wrote to Southwestern Ontario mayors.

"However, over two years have elapsed since this funding was made available and nothing has happened, while the government has announced the start of all the other planned rail line improvements on the Montreal-Ottawa, Ottawa-Toronto and Chatham-Windsor track. Apparently the Goderich-Exeter Railway is holding up the investment while negotiations over the contract renewal for VIA's use of their tracks unfolds.

"Given the recent comments that as the economy improves the government will review program spending with an eye to reducing the deficit, we are worried that this project could be cancelled leaving VIA to operate over substandard track and with inferior levels of service. Indeed if the work is not done, a case could be made for eliminating the VIA service completely. We would encourage you to query both the federal Minister of Transport and the Minister of Finance as to why this work has not been started and what they are doing to see that it is begun and completed as soon as possible. These projects will create jobs and leave a lasting legacy that will be of benefit in the coming years and decades," David L. Jeanes and Natalie Litwin wrote.

4 - Transport 2000 appuie le projet du quartier Bonaventure

Le 13 janvierl'association Transport 2000 Québec a fait part aux commissaires de l'Office de consultation publique de Montréal (OCPM) de son appui au projet du Quartier Bonaventure en insistant particulièrement sur l'importance du Corridor Dalhousie proposée par la Société du Havre de Montréal (SHM) en vue d'assurer la permanence d'un lien efficace et sécuritaire pour les usagers du transport en commun de la Rive-Sud de Montréal au cœur de la Métropole.

L'Association a insisté sur les bienfaits du Corridor Dalhousie pour les usagers du transport en commun. L'aménagement d'une zone d'embarquement entre les rues Ottawa et William avec un accès direct aux espaces commerciaux prévus sous le corridor ferroviaire du CN permettra d'améliorer considérablement le sort peu enviable des milliers d'usagers qui doivent aujourd'hui subir sur une base quotidienne les aléas la météo pour pouvoir monter ou descendre de leur autobus sous la structure de l'Autoroute Bonaventure. Le Corridor Dalhousie permettra de plus à l'ensemble des usagers de la Rive-Sud de profiter d'un trajet plus rapide et surtout à l'abri des bouchons de circulation qui surviendront dans le corridor Bonaventure avec sa capacité réduite de 12 à 8 voies de circulation.

5 - Passenger lobby group supports controversial Dalhousie St. bus corridor

"A transit users' lobby group Wednesday came out in support of a controversial new corridor for South Shore bus commuters. Transport 2000 said the corridor, part of a $260-million plan to demolish a section of the elevated Bonaventure Expressway, follows the best route - along Dalhousie St. in Griffintown," Andy Riga reported for the Montreal Gazette on Jan. 14.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/Passenger+lobby+group+supports+controversial+Dalhousie+corridor/2438504/story.html

6 - Transport Action Ontario AGM: DRIC and Environmental Assessment

Transport Action Ontario will hold its annual general meeting in Toronto on Saturday, March 27, 2010 in Metro Hall, room 302. The morning program starting at 10:30 a.m. will consist of annual business items and the election of a new board of directors. Members and non-members are invited to the free afternoon event starting at 1:30 p.m. We have put together an exciting panel on the important but underreported topic of the Detroit River International Crossing Project (DRIC); Infrastructure from a Bygone Era.

U.S. speakers concerned about the DRIC will cover the issue from their perspective and Transport Action Ontario will cover our concerns with the high cost and the unsustainability of the project. Albert Koehl of Ecojustice Canada will untangle the complicated environmental assessment process that approved the DRIC with a presentation entitled, Ontario and Federal Environmental Assessment: Sound Environmental Decision-Making? This event presents a rare opportunity to hear the other side of a government project whose justification is very questionable. Since seating is limited, reservations are encouraged. Please call Transport Action Ontario's infoline at 416-504-3934 or e-mail at n.litwin@sympatico.ca

7 - Detroit River International Crossing: No significant environmental impact?

"A Canadian environmental group and the Ambassador Bridge have applied for a judicial review of the $5-billion plan to build a new Detroit River bridge. The requests by the Sierra Club and the bridge were filed in federal court Dec. 31 and seek an interim injunction blocking any construction related to the project," the Windsor Star reported on Jan. 15. "The two entities are challenging the environmental assessment process conducted by the binational Detroit River International Crossing study team, which concluded there are no significant environmental impacts in the plan to construct a 10-kilometre feeder road, plazas and bridge to Detroit," the Star's Dave Battagello reported.

http://www2.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=e2c02122-6b67-44cf-acf1-1b9f473546f8

8 - Ottawa intensification undermined by road expansion: David Jeanes, Transport Action

"Blamed for everything from vanishing farmland to our dependence on the polluting automobile, Ottawa's urban sprawl may finally be getting reined in. Intensification is now a largely accepted fact of life, and city council last year limited more sprawl when it slashed a staff proposal for an 850 hectare expansion of the urban development area to 222 hectares in the west end," the Ottawa Citizen reported on Jan. 9.

"However, David Jeanes, president of the public transportation advocacy group Transport 2000, despairs of any substantial changes to urban sprawl by 2020. "We've got huge investments going into road widening like Prince of Wales (Drive) south of Fisher (Avenue) and new bridges. All of it's aimed at car mobility," the sine qua non of urban sprawl," the Citizen's Patrick Langston wrote.

http://www.househunting.ca/buying-homes/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=f22552cf-317f-47a5-a95b-4d491de1118e

9 - CAPT: Workshop on Ontario Government's Proposed Northern Growth Plan

"There will be a Northern Growth Plan feedback write-in workshop on Monday January 25th at 1:30pm in the Shingwauk Auditorium at the University," the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains reported on Jan. 11.

"Community members representing a variety of interests and backgrounds are invited to review the Ontario Government's Proposed Northern Growth Plan, a 25 year development plan for the north, and share there comments and concerns with others. The meeting will be an opportunity to complete the feedback discussion guides provided by the government for individuals to send in by February 1st with their comments and concerns," CAPT's Ashleigh Sauvé reported. The Northern Growth Plan is at:

https://www.placestogrow.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=65

10 - 'Decision time' for high-speed rail, industry says

"While some passenger lobby groups say better rail service can reduce the headaches of airport security and pollution from vehicles and planes, a Canadian industry association says the anticipated investments would also create opportunities for such other sectors as construction, manufacturing and steel. "I think you can be reasonably optimistic that there's a new emerging market here that didn't exist here in North America up until now," said Cliff Mackay, president of the Railway Association of Canada, which represents rail companies and engineering firms. "If you look at it in that context, and you look at the industrial capacity and the expertise in Canada in these sorts of systems, we're pretty well-positioned and we shouldn't miss this opportunity and I think government needs to think about that as part of their overall strategy," Canwest News Service reported on "High-speed rail projects have been discussed for decades in the central Canada corridor that links Quebec City, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Windsor, as well as the in Calgary-Edmonton corridor in Alberta. Both the federal Liberals and Bloc Quebecois have confirmed that a high-speed rail strategy will be part of their next electoral platform, while the government of Stephen Harper has announced nearly $1-billion in rail infrastructure improvements since 2007," Canwest's Mike De Souza reported.

http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2432017#ixzz0cPTjwNOT

11 - The case for commuter rail in Halifax

"IMAGINE a commuter train from Windsor Junction gliding through Halifax's south-end rail cut on its way to the downtown Via station. ... Commuter rail proponents have argued for years that it makes sense for Halifax because the infrastructure in an underused rail line is already in place. Though down to one track along the south-end rail cut and beyond, there is both room and time to share this CN line with a commuter service," a Jan. 3 Chronicle Herald op-ed said.

"On a siding at Industrial Rail Services in Moncton sit 27 relics of the past: self-propelled Dayliners. IRS has a $1-million contract to refurbish rail cars for Via Rail and has plans to market these remanufactured rail liners to North American cities as light rail commuter vehicles. They may not be the latest Bombardier design, but IRS vice-president Chris Evers points out that remanufacturing makes economic sense. It means gutting the stainless steel body and replacing the insides with a rebuilt truck, high-efficient diesel or hybrid engines, with new interiors and wheelchair access. This self-propelled train, unlike purely light-rail vehicles, is built to safety standards that allow it to mingle with freight traffic on main lines. Evers says the technology is available in our own region for a fraction of the cost of new equipment" Murray Metherall wrote in the Chronicle Herald.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotian/1160446.html

12 - Two more previously unavailable high speed rail studies posted

High Speed Rail Canada has added two VIA Rail high speed rail studies to their website: The 2002 VIAFast high speed rail study in French (the English version is already available) and the 1993 VIA Rail High Speed Rail Report. "Our mandate is to educate the public on high speed trains. There have been over a dozen previous studies on high speed rail in Canada. The posting of these previously confidential and unavailable VIA Rail studies will help further our knowledge base on the subject," Paul Langan, Founder of High Speed Rail Canada said on Jan. 12.

http://highspeedrail.ca

13 - 31 Pedestrians killed in Toronto in 2009

"Councillor Bill Saundercook, who is co-chair of the Toronto Pedestrian Committee, has faced criticism for seeking to reduce vehicle speed limits by 10 km/h on city streets. .... The Toronto Pedestrian Committee reviews all pedestrian fatalities in the city and attempts to educate drivers and pedestrians on safe navigation," the Toronto Star reported on Jan. 15. "Saundercook said the public should be "very concerned, because we're in a situation where the gridlock is so bad, it brings drivers to road-rage levels," and pedestrians are the victims. ... Toronto had 31 pedestrian deaths last year, 19 of them seniors, (said Const. Hugh Smith)," the Toronto Star reported.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/751032--police-warn-gta-drivers-as-death-toll-climbs

Thank you for calling the Transport Action Canada Hotline. For additional information, please contact our web site at:

www.transport-action.ca.