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| Transport Action Hotline - 16 April 2010 | |||||||||||
In this issue...This is the Transport Action Hotline, issue number 1068, for 16 April 2010.
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1 - Calendar
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2 - Transport Action Prairie: Regina's global transportation plan: Regina, May 8At its AGM the transportation watchdog will also talk about the Last Mountain Railway. The railway continues to exist in part due to a May 2007 Transport 2000 symposium. Held in Saskatoon, the meeting brought a lot of the people together who ended up saving the 100-km Regina to Davidson rail line. Transport Action's Catherine Verrall says: "We hope that you can come. This is a chance to get to know each other, to share ideas". The AGM will be held on May 8 beginning at 2:30 at the Knox Metropolitan Church, 2340 Victoria Ave in Regina.Please RSVP to cv.transprairie@yahoo.ca.
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3 - Transport 2000 Atlantic: David Gunn talks transportation: Dartmouth, May 8Transport 2000 Atlantic, soon to be Transport Action Atlantic, invites all to listen to what David Gunn has to say. Gunn is the former head of commuter rail/transit in Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington, DC, and Toronto. He was the president of Amtrak from from 2002 to 2005. Gunn now lives in West Bay Road, Cape Breton. He is active in transportation advocacy. There will an extended question period. Everyone is welcome to attend the AGM and the session with David Gunn.The Annual General Meeting will be held in the old city hall, now the School Board meeting room at 90 Alderney Drive, (entrance by the rear doors near the CN Rail line) in downtown Dartmouth (one block from the harbour ferry terminal) May 8, 1:00 pm AGM, 2:30 pm David Gunn presentation.
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4 - $3 million Ontario-Quebec high speed rail study delayedThe feasibility study for high speed rail (HSR) in the Québec City-Windsor corridor completion has been delayed, highspeedrail.ca reported on April 13."According to Bob Nichols, Communications Branch, Ontario Ministry of Transportation, the study is moving forward but due to the complexity of issues has been delayed. He was unable to give a date when the study will be completed," highspeedrail.ca reported. The high speed rail feasibility study is to update the previous 1995 study on the Ontario-Quebec corridor. EcoTrain Consortium composed of the firms Dessau, MMM Group (formerly Marshall Macklin Monaghan Limited), KPMG, Wilbur Smith & Associates and Deutsche Bahn International (DB International) were awarded the $3 million contract in February 2009, the citizen's national advocacy group reported. The governments of Québec, Ontario and Canada are sharing the cost.
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5 - Access To Information: Ken Rubin, Canada's information warriorLast week Ken Rubin launched a new web site featuring access to information tips; accounts of important cases; and a model freedom of information bill with suggestions on how to advance the public's right-to-know. He also released "Digging for Data Over the Years" a DVD reference publication ISBN number 978-0-9865464-0-2. To order the DVD send $60 by cheque or money order payable to Ken Rubin c/o 212 Third Avenue Ottawa ON K1S 2K3. Ken can be reached at kenrubin@rogers.com.Rubin's work helped Transport Action uncover Amtrak's biggest obstacle to adding a second daily Seattle-Vancouver train. He found the documents which showed the Canadian Border Security Agency was responsible for months and months of delays. Rubin's Access To Information request documented the CBSA demand of Amtrak to pay a $1,500 per train "facility fee". A broad coalition pressured the agency to hold off on the charge until the Olympics. To date no final decision has been made. Transport Action continues to protest CBSA's imbalance in its treatment of modes i.e. airlines, bus companies, people in cars don't have to pay CBSA to clear customs.
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6 - Le Groupe TRAQ agrandira son localLe Groupe TRAQ agrandira son local dès le premier mai. En effet, nous venons de prendre un nouveau bail pour une durée de trois ans avec ajout de presque 700 pieds carrés. Nous pourrons très bientôt vous louer une petite salle à Charny. Tenez-nous au courant de vos projets et nous tenterons de faire pour le mieux à un très bon prix.
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7 - Better Toronto-London train service delayed by fee dispute with U.S. company"Improved passenger train service along the London-Stratford-Kitchener-Toronto line is now delayed because of a dispute over how much VIA Rail should pay an American-owned company for increased use of the tracks," the Waterloo Region Record reported on April 15.Transport Action has long campaigned for expanded passenger service along this underutilized rail line. The railway parallels the 401. "For about the past year VIA and Goderich-Exeter have been in negotiations. The talks centred on the payments VIA makes for the use of the track. Now, VIA has asked the Canada Transport Agency to arbitrate," Terry Pender wrote for the Record. http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/698516
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8 - Queen's Park debt puts rapid transit in jeopardy: London, Ottawa"What does the inevitable budget restraint at Queen's Park mean to Ottawa's light-rail project? Belt-tightening at Queen's Park has choked off hope London could create dedicated bus lanes for express buses before the end of this decade. London Transit head Larry Ducharme had wanted to set up the first express line in 2012 and have a full system running by 2017 that would include dedicated bus lanes along four major streets, programmed traffic lights that give buses priority and pickups every five minutes at peak times," the Ottawa Citizen's Ken Gray wrote April 9 on the Bulldog blog.http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2010/04/07/13495601.html
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9 - Calgary Airport plans $2.4B growth spurt"The Calgary Airport Authority will spend $2.4 billion over the next five years to expand its facilities, including a new 22-aircraft gate wing and the launch of the longest runway in Canada," the Calgary Herald reported on April 15."The expansion, which includes upgrades to existing facilities and a new air traffic control tower south of the main terminal, will be paid for primarily through the airport improvement fee, which increased a dollar to $22 in 2010, and debt financing through long-term bonds," Dina O'Meara reported for the Herald on April 15. http://www.calgaryherald.com/Airports+plans+growth+spurt/2912375/story.html
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10 - North Okanagan rail campaign gains speed"An Enderby campaign to have the federal government buy a portion of CP Rail short-line track from Armstrong to Grindrod has the backing of Spallumcheen. Township council voted unanimously to support the campaign launched by the Enderby and District Chamber of Commerce the Vernon Morning Star reported on April 10. "The rail line has been closed since September, and CP Rail has been calling for private interests in the track with a selling price rumoured to be $1.5 million. ... A number of North Okanagan businesses have been dealt major blows with the closing of the line as they relied on rail to deliver their products," Roger Knox wrote for the Vernon Morning Star.http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/vernonmorningstar/news/90415604.html
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11 - Expanded rail connection for Sarnia"The creation of an expanded passenger rail service between Sarnia and London is back on track. Sarnia-Lambton MP Pat Davidson said Friday the project has received the support from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). The agency has given the green light to the Sarnia- Lambton Economic Partnership to forge ahead with a business proposal and feasibility study for a "Budd Car" passenger rail service between Sarnia and London," the Sarnia Observer reported on April 10.http://www.theobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2529038
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12 - Maine moving fast to save railwayThe New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal reported: "The moves by Maine legislators to approve a financial package to buy a portion of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway Ltd.'s track and form a task force to oversee its abandonment by the firm are good news, say FraserPapers Inc. and McCain Foods USA."On Monday, state legislators approved a $57.8-million bond package containing $14 million to buy the (240 mile rail line) and on Tuesday Gov. John Baldacci created a watchdog group that will include state officials, economic development representatives and business stakeholders to overseethe operation," Rebecca Penty wrote for the Telegraph-Journal on April 15. http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/front/article/1017918 http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/141030.html
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13 - Tearing up rail lines denies hope for future"Once railway tracks are gone no one is likely to rebuild them. This is why so many municipal councils, including North Bay's, have expressed concern or alarm in response to CP's decision to abandon three Ontario short-haul lines if it cannot find some other company to run them. These include CP's line from Smiths Falls to Petawawa, the line from Petawawa to Mattawa, and it wants someone to take over the line from Temiscaming to Sudbury," a North Bay Nugget editorial said."Tearing up the rail lines is a denial of the people's hopes for the future. Governments are not being unreasonable if they demand that CP leaves its lines untouched for at least a decade. At the same time the municipalities who are protesting must agree not to levy taxes upon dormant railroad property that may be a future asset. CP was built by visionaries who dreamed of a glorious future. The company must not damage the far more modest aspirations of small-town folk struggling to create a better future for their community," the Nugget said in an April 14 editorial. http://nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2532489
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