Regional staff working on first steps to bring GO rail service to Cambridge
Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett says GO rail service in Cambridge goes beyond the connection to Guelph
The Region of Waterloo is working on the first steps in bringing GO rail service to the City of Cambridge.
Regional staff are creating an initial business case to connect Cambridge to Union Station through Guelph via the Kitchener line.
The work builds on a feasibility study the region did in 2021, which compared the feasibility of connecting Cambridge to Guelph or Cambridge to Milton.
"The connection from Cambridge via Guelph to Union is faster and there's been so many upgrades to that line that there's going to be more capacity than if we were to connect Cambridge through Milton," Paula Sawicki, manager of transportation planning for the region told CBC News.
Sawicki said the goal would be to build a GO station in the Pinebush area that would coordinate with the ION for seamless transfer.
"We're trying to allow for transportation solutions that will let people live with out an automobile," she said, adding the station would also help bring more housing and development to the area.
People can go on the Engage Region of Waterloo website to give their feedback, which will help staff bring the initial business case to Metrolinx.
"It gives more support that we can [bring] to the province of Ontario and Metrolinx. That the people of Cambridge really want this service," she said.
Sawicki said there will be several public meeting for the community to take part in, including an online meeting scheduled for March 19, an in-person meeting in Guelph on March 21 and an in-person meeting at Cambridge City Hall on March 20.
Station to bring more transportation options
Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett says she's happy to see the work begin on the project. She says the station will help connect students between the universities grow employment between the cities and Toronto.
"It'll increase the employment pool, which is a great asset and will allow for greater mobility between the tax payers that work between all three of our communities," she told CBC News in an interview.
"It's really a sharing infrastructure provincially, which is where we need to go."
She said the project also helps the city move forward with more transportation options.
"Cambridge tax payers have paid, since 2011, $62.1 million to fund the LRT and GRT network from design to operation and maintenance," she said.
"I think we're finally getting something from the money we have paid into the LRT and GRT."