Northlander train revival progressing on schedule, officials say
Provincial politicians said that work to bring northeastern Ontario’s long-missed Northlander passenger rail service is happening on schedule as they unveil signs highlighting the sites of its future train stations.
At an unveiling of the future Timmins-Porcupine station Monday morning, Ontario’s associate transportation minister, Stan Cho and Timmins MPP George Pirie said work is underway to prepare for the arrival of three train sets in the mid-2020s.
“The train purchases are on-schedule and the (engineering) work that has to go into having that train operational, shortly after the trains arrive, it’s already begun,” said Cho.
“We’ve got to look at the renderings for stations like (the) Porcupine train station and all the way up and down the line.”
Pirie told local stakeholders that the province wants to assure people in the communities that the revived service will transport between Toronto and Cochrane and that the Northlander will return.
Where the previous Liberal government decommissioned the train line, he said the Ford government intends to bring it back permanently.
“Over $100 million (in funding) to make this happen and the fact that it’s going to have a ridership of 60,000 people, will ensure that it will be here for a long time,” said Pirie.
Though he said it is difficult to comment on whether a future government would reverse course.
Meantime, Ontario Northland’s CEO, Chad Evans, said the goal is to design the train stations on a timeline that would have the Northlander operational soon after receiving the train sets from Siemens Mobility Limited.
“This year, we’re going to do the conceptual work and then we’ll get on with some drawings and we’ll move into procurement next year,” said Evans.
“We expect shovels in the ground by 2025.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.