GO train dream for Cambridge sidetracked

[natcordev]

GO train dream for Cambridge sidetracked Kevin Swayze | Record staff | Sat Feb 25 2012 | LINK (http://www.therecord.com/news/local/article/676771--go-train-dream-for-cambridge-sidetracked)

CAMBRIDGE — It’s been 40 years since a passenger train left the Malcolm Street station in Cambridge.
If Mayor Doug Craig has his way, long-promised GO trains could be rolling into the station again in five years or so, not the 15 to 25 years as now suggested by the transit company. “That’s unacceptable,” Craig said. “It’s a political decision. GO trains have gone further to places that cost more. Barrie is a perfect example. “I think the ultimate thing is to remember everything is political here.” Craig complains Waterloo Region isn’t pushing hard enough to bring trains to Cambridge. GO trains started servicing Kitchener just before Christmas. Craig said that happened even though the Cambridge station is better placed to get hundreds of daily commuters off overburdened Highway 401 and into Toronto faster. But Regional Chair Ken Seiling says the region has been pitching Cambridge GO trains the same way it did for Kitchener.

[natcordev]

One of the most telling lines of this article is buried near the end of this article. Cambridge is "the largest city in the country without passenger rail service". If ever there was a simple rallying cry for lobbying purposes, that would be it.

[mpd618]

One of the most telling lines of this article is buried near the end of this article. Cambridge is "the largest city in the country without passenger rail service". If ever there was a simple rallying cry for lobbying purposes, that would be it.

I think the line said it was the largest such city. Now that dubious honour goes to Calgary.

The article really nails the issue here, I think:


So, what’s a better use of, say, $150 million: widening part of Highway 401 or bringing GO trains to Cambridge?

“That’s a really good question. That’s something I’d have to think about a little bit more,” Leone said. “What we have to do with our money is do a cost-benefit analyzes of what projects would move more people, more goods, faster.”
For Craig, the answer is a no-brainer.
“I would certainly pick the GO train. Widening the 401 is a dead end. How many more lanes are you going to add?
“We need a vision for transportation networks. The public is demanding it."

[DHLawrence]

The comments are sickening as usual. I don't care if they think it's whining; if Kitchener had spent forty years trying to get passenger trains back they'd be whining too.

[bcwessel]

I don't often agree with Craig, but I don't know if I've ever seen a politician pack so much good sense into five consecutive, straightforward sentences in all my life.

[WaterlooNative]

And of course the biggest challenge: the province owns the highway, a private corporation owns the railway right-of-way. Light rail to Guelph?

[mpd618]

And of course the biggest challenge: the province owns the highway, a private corporation owns the railway right-of-way. Light rail to Guelph?

GO Transit can and does buy rail lines in order to be in a position to make the kind of track improvements and schedule needed for service. Though due to its importance to CP, the line through Cambridge may be rather expensive. (Less so than the line in Kitchener is to CN / Goderich-Exeter.)

Cambridge to Guelph... it's a separate travel market than the one discussed here. There's a new inter-regional study just started on transportation links between Waterloo Region, Guelph, and Brantford. it is entirely possible at some point to restore rail service between Cambridge and Guelph. First step would likely be buses.

[wryanking]

Cambridge GO service and Cambridge-Guelph rail service are completely separate issues. I see more value in adding GO service from Cambridge given the number of people hitting the 401 every day on their way to Toronto. There'd likely be a better schedule (compared to Kitchener) given it's a more efficient route to Toronto through Milton.

[DHLawrence]

Buses make more sense on Cambridge-Guelph right now. When there are more stops between downtown and downtown maybe, but not yet.

The right of way has been owned by a private corporation since 1995 when CN was privatized. It still is; Goderich-Exeter just operates it under contract.