Good news on local rail front: H-B-M reeve
By Bill Freeman
Havelock-Belmont-Methuen - A federal government plan to bring high speed rail to Peterborough would also include a complete upgrade of the rail line and bed between the city and Havelock with increased speed capabilities, says Havelock-Belmont-Methuen reeve Ron Gerow.
Gerow was enthusiastic after attending a meeting in Peterborough with MP Dean Del Mastro and federal transportation officials to get an update on the railway issue Del Mastro has been championing.
"It's all good news. It's all very positive," Gerow said during Tuesday night's council meeting. "It was a good meeting. We had the people who are making the decisions and in the know at the table.
"I'm happy to see the project for the upgrade of the line fro Peterborough to Toronto moving forward. They are at the stage now of putting the finishing touches on a number of the pieces revolving around where the CP and CN yards meet in Toronto and how this will work."
The "final touches in the planning and engineering part of it" are also being completed, Gerow said.
Gerow says there will be additional announcements about the project in the near future along with more information about the environmental assessment that must be undertaken.
The "good news for Havelock-Belmont-Methuen," he added, is the fact that the line between Peterborough and Havelock will be included in the environmental assessment process.
"The way it was put to me at the meeting is that we'd be looking at a total new line between Peterborough and Havelock with new welded rail, new road bed, the whole nine yards."
He also said it would "likely be recommended" that the line meet a "60 mph standard at the minimum end" with "100 mph capabilities for the rest of the line.
"What that means is that freight rail out of this area can bring the speed up from 10 mph to at least 60 mph in the future and very likely it can be justified (that) passenger rail service could be brought back to Havelock."
The estimated cost of the Toronto to Havelock project is between $190 and $200 million, he said.
"And that does not include the interchange at the staging area in Toronto."
Gerow said that what he heard in Peterborough "puts an end to the speculation and supposition out there (about the project)."
"As we move forward I'm quite sure this information will make it's way out to the public and there will be an opportunity for their input in this community and across the county."