Northumberland County could come in for spin-off benefits from a new Crown Corporation

High-speed rail. By Kua Yue. Free Use Domain. Upsplash

By: Cecilia Nasmith, Northumberland 89.7 FM News

Northumberland County

Even though the high-speed electrified Alto train will go from Toronto to Peterborough (and from there to Ottawa and four Quebec destinations), Northumberland County could see some potential benefits.

These were discussed Wednesday at Northumberland County council's Economic Development, Tourism, Land Use Planning Committee.

“The sooner we get high-speed rail across this portion of our country, the better off we will be,” Councillor Brian Ostrander said.

“This will free up some space along the lakeshore, so we can get more new stops.”

In fact, Ostrander recently objected to a motion at the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus to ask for additional stops on the proposed Alto line.

“The sooner we get it built, the sooner we can get this flowing, the sooner we can get the lakeshore line freed up,” he explained.

Committee Chair Mandy Martin added that, given the need of the project for massive amounts of electricity, the new nuclear-generation station being built in western Port Hope might also be of help.

“All this is going to take electrical power, and it has to come from somewhere, so I urge you to incorporate that and think about that,” Martin said.

Manager of Community Relations for Ontario Alexis Doyle was delighted to hear of these “potential synergies” following her presentation on the project that will boost productivity in this corridor – addressing the stagnation caused by escalating transportation costs, limited capacity in existing transportation infrastructure and a lack of connectivity among communities.

Beginning in Toronto, ending in Quebec City and, in between, stopping only at Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Montreal and Trois Rivieres, it will reach speeds of up to 300 km/hr. Dedicated tracks, constructed just to accommodate this electrified service, will mean no more yielding right-of-way to freight trains. And it is estimated that Alto could accommodate as many as 20 to 30 daily departures.

The result is getting to your destination almost twice as fast. For example, the trip from Toronto to Ottawa will be cut to two hours and nine minutes from four hours and 26 minutes. From Toronto to Peterborough would take a mere 40 minutes, compared to one hour and 27 minutes by car (as rail service is not currently available to Peterborough.)

Projected outcomes include significant increase in intercity rail passengers, safer intercity journeys, minimal cost to taxpayers, meaningful benefit to the environment, and significant increases to the availability of accessible and affordable services.

Combined impacts on productivity, worker participation and tourism could be equivalent to as much as $1.1-billion of Canada's annual GDP - $24.5-to-$35-billion.

Alto is now a Crown Corporation administering the project, Doyle said. RFPs have been issued and the development phase has begun – consultation with Indigenous communities, property acquisitions, design work, engaging with key parties, assessing impacts. Next steps include engagement exercises and open houses.

Councillor Bob Crate asked about the time line “between now and the time a train will choo-choo down the track.”

“It will be electrified, so it might not choo-choo,” Doyle said, adding that it's too early in the process to hazard a guess on that.

“If there's anything we can do to help expedite this process, let us know,” Ostrander offered.