Does high-speed rail have a future in southwestern Ontario?
Lack of political will and public pressure have kept rail service stagnant, advocate says
As the federal government prepares to announce Canada's first high-speed rail line connecting Toronto to Quebec City, it remains to be seen whether the service will be extended westward into southwestern Ontario.
In the coming weeks, the government is expected to unveil plans for a high-speed rail corridor with a dedicated, electrified, grade-separated track and trains travelling upwards of 300 km/h, according to a Radio-Canada report, citing sources.
Such a link could cut travel between Toronto and Montreal by 2½ hours, project proponents hope. It's a change from the high-frequency rail that was previously planned.
Missing from the conversation, however, are municipalities along the westernmost stretch of the Quebec City–Windsor corridor, including London, one of Canada's fastest-growing cities.
Expanding high-speed service into the region is possible, but requires a change in political and public will first, said Clarence Woudsma, a University of Waterloo professor specializing in transportation policy.
High-speed rail has been studied repeatedly over the decades, with the conversation boiling down to the same issues, including a lack of population and demand to warrant such an investment, he said.
Via Rail's own annual reports seem to back that up. In 2023, 67.3 per cent of the Crown corporation's passenger revenues were from service between Toronto and Quebec City, versus 13 per cent from Windsor to Toronto.
"The counterargument to that, of course, is that given that we've never really supported passenger rail at all, should we be surprised that we can't get traction underneath high-speed rail?" Woudsma said.
Canada is the only G7 country without any high-speed rail. Several passengers CBC News spoke with outside of London's train station on Tuesday indicated that they would ride the rails more if it were available.
"I would definitely take it more," said Brook Wong, a Toronto-based lawyer. "I was also a student at Western, and I would definitely have done that many weekends and many times throughout my time as a student."
"We've got family past Toronto. If we were to take the train now, that'd be a three to four-hour commitment," said Heather Prangley, a professor at Western University.
Prangley said she would like to see the existing Via Rail service improved and integrated with provincially owned GO Transit.
The government's plan could serve as a catalyst to improve other rail service, like London to Kitchener-Waterloo, where old tracks hamper speeds, said Paul Langan, a high-speed rail advocate.
"You can't have this efficient high-speed rail system, then you get off in Toronto and have... brutal service between K-W and London," said Langan, founder of High Speed Rail Canada.
Langan argues a lack of political will and public pressure have kept southwestern Ontario rail service from improving, and hopes progress on the file isn't derailed if a new government takes power.
"I think we're at a tipping point. We've moved the project significantly forward, and the situation with Via Rail is critical."
Owning only three per cent of the rail it uses, Via is at the mercy of the railways, which prioritize profitable freight traffic. It's largely why only 59 per cent of Via trains were on time last year.
Speaking on Afternoon Drive on Tuesday, London North Centre Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos didn't confirm Radio-Canada's report, but expressed support for high-speed rail and extending a future linkage to London and Windsor.
"I have to see the analysis, I have to see the costs. Other MPs have to look at that too before any decisions are made," said Fragiskatos, parliamentary secretary to the minister of housing, infrastructure and communities.
High-speed rail requires a dedicated line, discussions, analysis and consultation with communities that may be affected, he said.
"I don't want to see a process delayed by bureaucracy, but it's not bureaucratic to ask communities how they feel about a particular vision."
A previous provincial high-speed rail plan by the Kathleen Wynne Liberals was scrapped when the Doug Ford Conservatives took power.
The project faced opposition from farmers, who said a grade-separated line would put them at a disadvantage and carve a boundary across the province.
Those concerns, and the cost of acquiring land, could hurt a westerly extension of Ottawa's plans, Woudsma said.
An existing, underutilized freight line and a stretch of Via-owned track, both lacking in southwestern Ontario, are expected to be used for the Toronto to Quebec City route.
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