Report: Ontario Should Invest in 900 Mile High Speed Rail System

Articles — By forcechange on December 23, 2008 1:33 am

A report recently delivered to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty calls for dramatic investments in high speed rail in that province.  The report, written by a team of civil engineers at the University of Toronto calls for a 900 mile web of high speed rail to run from Toronto north to Orillia, east to Peterborough and west to a corridor that includes Waterloo, Hamilton and Niagara Falls.

The proposed system would cost between $4 and $20 billion, depending on which route and technologies are used.  The report asserts that building this rail system is crucial to Ontario’s long-term economic growth.  That growth would be stimulated through the creation of high density “mega-regions” that would encourage economic growth and innovation.

These mega-regions would feature “mobility hubs” located near the high speed rail stations.  These stations would then be connected to local bus, train, and subway routes.  Both highway congestion and greenhouse gas emissions would be dramatically reduced under the plan.

The report, titled Infrastructure and the Economy: Future directions for Ontario, also notes that the high speed rail system could eventually be extended to Ottawa, Montreal, Chicago and New York.

The proposed Ontario high speed rail joins Texas, the Midwest, Florida, the Pacific Northwest, and possibly Minnesota, as North American locales that are working towards high speed rail development.

Graphic via TheStar.com