Province proposes return of Northlander train service with terminus in Timmins

The province's plan to bring the Northlander train service back, with a terminus in Timmins, "doesn't make sense" according to a councillor in the town of Cochrane.

The Northlander service, which ran from Toronto to Cochrane, northeast of Timmins, was cancelled in 2012.

But the province has promised to bring the service back, and Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney announced the revived service would end in Timmins instead. Studies for the service are still underway, and there is no date set for when it would resume.

"It's purely political," said Daniel Belisle, a municipal councillor in Cochrane. "It doesn't make any sense. Business wise, it's stupid."

Belisle said the repair facilities for the train are located in Cochrane.

"If you're having a problem with an engine, how do you get the engine from Timmins to Cochrane?" he asked.

Belisle added a lot of the rail lines in Timmins were removed after the service was cancelled, and that the province would need to spend millions of dollars to rebuild that infrastructure.

"They'd be better off to have a first-class bus service that would take you to Sudbury, where 80 per cent of the people of northern Ontario go to get their medical appointments." he said.

"To operate a bus you need one driver, and if you factor in the mechanics, then say it's maybe one and a half people. But when you're running a train, it takes about 10 people."

Ontario Northland's Polar Bear Express train connects Cochrane to the town of Moosonee, along the James Bay coast.

$5-million commitment

In an emailed statement, Minister Mulroney's office said the new rail line will help serve the community of Timmins.

"In 2012, the previous Liberal government abandoned Northern Ontario by cancelling passenger rail service," the statement said. "Our government knows that residents and visitors of northern Ontario deserve better, which is why we are investing $5 million toward the re-introduction of passenger rail service."

The statement added the province is currently working to assess the route, and is working with the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission to speed up work on a track audit on a section of the North Bay corridor.

"We want to get this right and will not be taking any shortcuts as we move forward," it said.

Timmins Mayor George Pirie, who is also the riding's Progressive Conservative candidate for the next provincial election, said the proposed rail service is good news for the city.

"It's another transportation option for the residents, for the city," he said.

Pirie said the proposed site for the Terminus, in Porcupine, already has existing rail lines in place.

John Vanthof, the NDP MPP for Timiskaming-Cochrane, said he supports passenger rail service in the region, but said the Progressive Conservative plan lacked details.

"I'm disappointed that we aren't further along with the project," he said. "There's been $5 million allocated for a study, but there is still no long term funding, not in the fall economic statement either for the reinstatement of passenger rail."

Vanthof said if passenger rail service returns to the region, it should serve both Timmins and Cochrane. 

"The city of Timmins needs rail service, as does the fastest growing community in that part of the world, which is Cochrane," he said.