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Orangeville-Brampton Railway (OBRY)

kamira51 said:
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand this is great news, protecting the corridor etc, but on the other hand they only ever mention "trail" and no passenger rail service. 😕

Kinda lame, not gonna lie.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't go as far as lame.

In all probability, the worst case here is that rail never returns to any portion of this route, in which case, we still have both a recreational trail; a means of active transportation, and a partial preservation of the historical significance of the corridor.

But, by saving the corridor from being sold off in bits and pieces or even developed over, the possibility of some re-use as rail is preserved; that's important. Were this purchase not happening, that possibility would be almost certainly forsaken.

Sure, it would be nice to hear about some future for some portion of this line as active rail; but that's really beyond Peel's ambit, at least for the forseeable future.

As yet, Peel doesn't even do public transit, it certainly doesn't do commuter rail or freight rail. So decisions on those uses will likely come from other players.

Mississauga and Brampton (and therefore Peel) also have other proverbial fish to fry based on current wish lists, most of which seem reasonable.......

1) Downtown LRT Loop
2) LRT north to Downtown Brampton
3) Dundas BRT
4) Brampton BRT Queen
5) Milton GO

When all of those are funded/under way, perhaps some new ideas, including for this corridor may come to the fore..........but that time is not now. At least its there for when that time will come.
 
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Bureaucromancer said:
I really don’t buy it. The first time we reactivate one of these it will be painful; far less so for the next.

Its not like to be short term in Brampton, but the Leaside spur really should come back the moment Crosstown GO gets on anyones agenda.
Click to expand...
The thing that's important to note is that we are currently in a very pro-NIMBY age where governments will try to bendover to whatever NIMBYs wish, including building 50m deep stations in suburbia. In short, something must fundamentally change in both public perception and how we deal with pushback in order to get a back to rail conversion to happen.
 
Do we have any update on the situation with the removed section of Brampton's draft plan for railbanking the OBRY corridor, or is railbanking no longer being considered?
 
christine said:
citizen.on.ca

Mysterious sale of the OBRY

By Neil Orford Over the past two years, the Town of Orangeville, in virtual secrecy, sold off one of the municipality’s most valuable assets – the OBRY rail corridor – in a process that lacke…
citizen.on.ca citizen.on.ca
Click to expand...
“Last January, in a move that surprised many, the ORDC sold a five-acre parcel of prime industrial land – belonging to the OBRY line – to the City of Brampton for $24 million.” If he is talking about the lands south of the CN diamond, describing them as “prime industrial” a bit of a stretch, as opposed to “legacy industrial activity lands now encroached on by suburban residential”
 
dowlingm said:
“Last January, in a move that surprised many, the ORDC sold a five-acre parcel of prime industrial land – belonging to the OBRY line – to the City of Brampton for $24 million.” If he is talking about the lands south of the CN diamond, describing them as “prime industrial” a bit of a stretch, as opposed to “legacy industrial activity lands now encroached on by suburban residential”
Click to expand...

That was never “prime industrial land.” The only industry adjacent to the CP station land was Flowerlea Dairy on Park Street (now townhouses), the Peel Ice & Fuel depot at Nelson Street (likely quite contaminated as heating oil was stored and shipped from there) and the Dominion Skate lands, where there was also a foundry where the GO auxiliary parking lot is.

I suspect that with the urban intensification planned for Downtown Brampton and the soil remediation necessary for residential redevelopment, the lands will indeed remain public as park space. The west side of downtown will need things like a playground and perhaps a dog park, as opposed to more formal uses at Gage Park and the two downtown squares.
 
I was in Brampton today, and apart from weeds completely obscuring the rails in places, nothing has changed. Brampton Transit buses are still stopping at the railway crossings, though a train has not come by in over six months. I'm a little surprised that the crossbucks and and signals are still in place, but maybe that's a legal thing until the corridor is properly decommissioned.
 
Happening today:

News - peelregion.ca

peelregion.ca peelregion.ca

Media Advisory - Railway to Trailway Official Ribbon Cutting

You are cordially invited to commemorate the acquisition at the official ribbon cutting ceremony.

When
Friday July 15, 2022 from 2 to 3 p.m. (rain or shine)

Where
Northwest corner of Queen St. E and Park St., Brampton ON.

What
The Region of Peel and the Cities of Brampton and Mississauga and Town of Caledon have acquired the Orangeville Brampton Railway Lands for a future recreational trail and utility corridor.

Who
Remarks will be delivered by representatives from:

Region of Peel
City of Mississauga
City of Brampton
Town of Caledon
Town of Orangeville

If possible, consider carpooling as onsite parking may be limited. Please wear comfortable closed footwear as the ground may be uneven/gravel.
 
Allandale25 said:
Happening today:

News - peelregion.ca

peelregion.ca peelregion.ca

Media Advisory - Railway to Trailway Official Ribbon Cutting

You are cordially invited to commemorate the acquisition at the official ribbon cutting ceremony.

When
Friday July 15, 2022 from 2 to 3 p.m. (rain or shine)

Where
Northwest corner of Queen St. E and Park St., Brampton ON.

What
The Region of Peel and the Cities of Brampton and Mississauga and Town of Caledon have acquired the Orangeville Brampton Railway Lands for a future recreational trail and utility corridor.

Who
Remarks will be delivered by representatives from:

Region of Peel
City of Mississauga
City of Brampton
Town of Caledon
Town of Orangeville

If possible, consider carpooling as onsite parking may be limited. Please wear comfortable closed footwear as the ground may be uneven/gravel.
Click to expand...
I don't suppose there is any word on Brampton's plan for railbanking in their official draft that was removed mysteriously. My interpretation is that getting GO service/future rail use requires cooperation of other municipalities corridor owners and they weren't on board so there won't be a possibility of rail use returning.

Not a huge loss since future opportunities for rail here are rather remote so limiting adjacent development would be a waste of economic potential in my opinion.
 
Here is the media release related to this announcement: https://peelregion.ca/news/archiveitem.asp?year=2022&month=6&day=15&file=2022615.xml

And a photo:

Region of Peel Trail Announcement.jpg
 
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