News   Apr 17, 2024
Sustainability Month: The Combined Power of Bike + Subway + RER
 571     0 
News   Apr 17, 2024
Daniels' OMG2 Offers EV Charging at Brampton Condo Homes
 303     0 
News   Apr 17, 2024
Canada Lands Company Advances Downsview Lands Transformation
 1.9K     1 

Orangeville-Brampton Railway (OBRY)

March 8, 2022 letter from Transport Action Ontario to the Chair of Peel Region Council.

Mr. Nando Iannicca
Regional Chair, Region of Peel
Email: chair@peelregion.ca
March 8, 2022
Dear Chair Iannicca:

Considerations for Peel Region’s Potential Acquisition of Orangeville-Brampton Railway Lands

In a January 10, 2022 Press Release from the Town of Orangeville, it was announced that:

“Just over five acres of land in downtown Brampton has been sold to the city by the Orangeville Railway Development Corporation (ORDC). The deal, following months of discussions, will see the site off Nelson Street change ownership at a cost of $24.25 million. In 2020, Orangeville Council, as the lone shareholder of ORDC, directed the board to sell or lease rail line assets.”

This finalization of this completed deal was confirmed at the Feb 28, 2022 meeting of the Town of Orangeville Council.

Further in the Press Release, the Town of Orangeville also announced that:

“Peel Region is investigating the feasibility of acquiring the Orangeville-Brampton Railway lands for purposes such as a recreational trail and utilities.”

This information was confirmed in correspondence between a colleague of ours and Amie Miles, Manager, Strategic Communications for Peel Region on February 10, 2022, in which the wording of a Peel Regional Council motion was also provided, stipulating:

“That staff investigate the feasibility of acquiring the Orangeville-Brampton Railway Lands located in the Region of Peel from the Orangeville Railway Development Corporation for purposes such as a recreational trail and utilities, and report back to Regional Council at a later date with findings" (2019992)

Transport Action Ontario (TAO) is a long-standing, non-profit, non-partisan, volunteer advocacy group dedicated to improved and integrated public transportation across Ontario.
At Transport Action Ontario, we strongly encourage the purchase of the ORBY corridor from the ORDC by Peel Region. We feel it is important for this corridor to remain in public hands. Listed below are several important factors supporting such a decision. We feel staff needs to include these pursuant to any final acquisition decision and as part of the anticipated ‘Report to Council’.
​
  • Population Increase in the Area will Require Commuter Rail. The Orangeville, Caledon and Brampton areas are experiencing relentless population growth. Even in a post-pandemic environment, this will put additional stress on area roads including Highways 10 and 410 used for commutes into the GTHA and the burgeoning commercial centre surrounding Pearson airport. The Orangeville-Brampton rail route will be critical to road congestion and vehicle emissions mitigation. It is potentially an existing low-cost solution to an otherwise expensive future mobility problem when existing GO bus services can no longer meet the need. This was the case made by TAO in correspondence with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Metrolinx, in January 2021.

    The need for additional transportation infrastructure in northern Peel Region into Dufferin County will be even more pressing should the Highway 413 project be cancelled. As you know, this project is facing significant opposition due to its costs and impacts.

  • TRBOT Regional Rail Vision includes OBRY Corridor. In March, 2021, the Toronto Region Board of Trade (TRBOT) published a report called “Getting on the Right Track – Connecting Communities with Regional Rail.” It envisions using the current 450 km network of existing and legacy rail corridors to create a true regional rail system with 10-minute or better headways, akin to the Berlin S-Bahn or Paris RER. The vision is “anywhere to anywhere, anytime.” The network is branded ‘The Trillium Network’. The report is an excellent guide to best practices and what can be accomplished by harnessing the full potential of the rail system in Greater Toronto, building upon the planned GO Expansion program. The TRBOT called for the preservation of the OBRY for industrial freight service, as well as a possible future use for light-medium commuter rail. We urge Peel region to consider the relevant recommendations of the TRBOT Report as part of the feasibility study process.

  • Preservation of Corridors (Intact) is a Societal Priority. Recognizing that the Provincial Policy Statement states “preservation and reuse of abandoned corridors for purposes that maintain the corridor’s integrity and continuous linear characteristics should be encouraged, wherever feasible,” we urge Peel Region to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study to assess the scope of protection of the rail ‘right-of-way’ for the OBRY corridor, which might include preservation of a viable short line rail operation, in tandem with other uses.

  • Short line Rail or Commuter Rail can co-exist with Trails. Short line railways are important strategic assets. We argue that they are superior for freight movement (environmental, congestion relief, lower cost if sufficient customers) and provide future corridors for passenger rail as well as existing corridors for tourist rail. And it is feasible to combine rail-with-trails (RWT) on active corridors, which is being done in many jurisdictions.

  • Fate of Corridor Should Involve Public Consultation. Ideally, we urge Peel Region to undertake a feasibility study process that prioritizes robust public consultation among a broad range of stakeholder, one which effectively aligns a vision for the entirety of the OBRY corridor with existing objectives in the Transportation Master Plan (TMP) for Peel Region, as well as plans such as the Brampton’s “Integrated Downtown Plan”, Brampton 2040, Peel 2051, and other relevant planning initiatives.

  • NTCF offers Funding Opportunity. Finally, the $4.2 Billion National Trade Corridor Fund (NTCF) administered by Transport Canada helps fund infrastructure projects (including railways and short line rail services) which improve the flow of trade /fluidity of supply chains. The NTCF has a strong track record of working with municipalities to establish a healthy long-term funding model supporting (even re-opening abandoned) industrial rail operations, just like the OBRY. We have already made initial outreach to the NTCF through their ‘continuous-call’ for proposals, and believe that a strong case can be made for successful application by Peel Region, targeting the revitalization of the OBRY and addressing the growing transportation challenges that mounting highway congestion presents throughout and around Peel Region. Initiating an application to the NTCF in 2022, and aligning the process with the stated goals of the proposed ‘feasibility study’ to be presented to Council could result in an enormous economic benefit, while also securing a revitalized trade rail corridor for the future, as defined in vision for Peel 2051.
TAO would welcome an opportunity to advise and/or present as a delegation to Peel Region as a participant in the feasibility study process. We support any proposal to purchase the OBRY corridor for the stated intentions, and we urge a full and open feasibility study process to assess the best use of the corridor, while maintaining its integrity for future rail service.

Yours truly,
Peter Miasek

President, Transport Action Ontario
cc. Town of Orangeville
Click to expand...
 
Allandale25 said:
citizen.on.ca

Transport Action asking Peel to conduct study on future of Orangeville railway lands

By Sam Odrowski Transport Action Ontario, which is an advocacy group for integrated public transit, sent a letter to the Region of Peel last week, regarding its interest in acquiring Orangeville-Br…
citizen.on.ca citizen.on.ca
Click to expand...
Very good article, especially this part.

"If Highway 413 is cancelled, the need for additional transportation infrastructure to northern Peel into Dufferin will become even more pressing, the letter noted."

It's absolutely infuriating how no one is protesting the closure of this railway line.
 
Bordercollie said:
At least the corridor is to be preserved for now.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately that means nothing. In Ontario, once rail is gone it never comes back. VIA HFR doesn't count until I see new track on the ground.

Plus I have strong suspicions that parts of the corridor will be sold off to private land owners since a fair bit of the corridor runs through private land.

Mercury said:
Can someone post the relevant info from that? I don't have a FB account.
Click to expand...
 
Mercury said:
Can someone post the relevant info from that? I don't have a FB account.
Click to expand...

It's a video of a hi-rail excavator pulling up lengths of rail behind itself, with the caption "End of the line. / Literally. / Orangeville’s railway, being chopped up for scrap. / 1870-2022"

Edit to add: Oh, it's also on YouTube, that'll do. Thanks @christine !
 
At the diamond in Brampton, March 25. Though rail is being removed within the Town of Orangeville, signals still protect the CN mainline. At several bridges in Caledon, concrete blocks were put in place between the rails to keep ATVs off the abandoned tracks.

IMG_8523.JPG
IMG_8507.JPG
 
I know at this point it's beating a dead horse but I was driving down 10 and through Caledon East and i noticed its mostly Orangeville license plates driving south, i believe it definitely warrents a rail commuter line I'm very surprised the "environmentalists" aren't protesting this.

They fight against a proposed highway, but they don't fight to protect the last of our rail corridors?

And the argument of "we can always turn it back into a railway when we need it" is utter bs, like all the rest of the railways that were removed and turned into trails, none have been converted back into railways, once the rails are gone, it's not coming back ever.

It's a shame how none of the city's in the gta who "opposed" the 413, don't dare talk about this railway line, just a bunch of hypocrites, especially the Orangeville city council, absolute scum.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top