-
MP Dean Del Mastro rail report
Del Mastro releases a report in support of passenger rail service between Peterborough and Toronto.
According to Del Mastro’s findings, the service would start with an estimated 903 daily commuters, saving an annual 469,560 one-way car trips to and from the Greater Toronto Area.
CP Rail has estimated it would cost $150 million to upgrade the tracks and rail infrastructure to support passenger rail, Del Mastro says. -
Peterborough-Toronto rail line mentioned in federal budget speech
“This was the most significant federal infrastructure investment in our area since John A. Macdonald committed to the completion of the Trent-Severn Waterway,” Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro says shorlty after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty mentions the project in the budget speech.
Del Mastro says the rail service could be running by 2010.
He estimates it would cost $88 million to upgrade the existing railway tracks and infrastructure to support high-speed passenger and freight service. -
CP Railway surprised by federal government plan for Peterborough-Toronto commuter rail service
CP Railway spokesman tells The Examiner that the budget announcement “sort of came out of the blue for all of us.”
“When we first talked about upgrades on the line they were really for freight traffic,” Michel Spenard says. -
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces public transportation funding
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces creation of public transit capital trust with $195 million in funding for Ontario.
The money is committed for studying Peterborough commuter rail line, accelerating extension of GO Transit line from Lakeshore East to Bowmanville and establishing regular GO bus service to Peterborough.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty tells The Examiner the federal government is setting aside money in the $33-billion Build Canada Fund for Peterborough-Toronto rail service. -
GO Transit feasibility study on Peterborough-Toronto service
A report for GO Transit completed in 2007 and obtained by The Examiner in August 2008 estimates a Peterborough-Toronto rail service would have carried 193,960 passengers in 2006, which is fewer than the 469,560 estimated by Del Mastro in 2008.
The GO Transit report shows revenue would recover an estimated 23.6%, or $1.3 million, of the $5.5-million operating cost in its first year (based on 2006 projections). Cost recovery would climb to 47.3%, or $2.6 million, by 2026. -
Liberal MP calls Peterborough-Toronto commuter rail service a "pork-barrelling idea"
Peterborough-Toronto commuter rail service is a “pork-barrelling idea,” Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay tells The Examiner at a town hall meeting at PCVS.
Infrastructure money should go where the biggest needs are, she says. -
Rallying cry
After a long period without any updates, Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro urges the public to put pressure on the federal and provincial governments to move the project along the process. -
Metrolinx releases a feasibility study on the rail service
A feasibility study shows the most basic commuter service would cost $541 million to establish.
The Metrolinx report investigates three different track routes and three levels of service including basic, enhanced and all-day service with price tags ranging from $541 million at the lowest to $1.5 billion at the highest for service beginning in 2016.
The report suggests it would cost between $21 million and $25 million to maintain and operate basic service each year. -
Roundtable meeting on the Peterborough-Toronto rail line
Representatives from Metrolinx and CP Railway joined Del Mastro, Leal, then-mayor Paul Ayotte, county Warden J. Murray Jones and business leaders. -
Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro's rail study
Del Mastro announces that passenger train will leave downtown on July 1, 2014
Getting the rail service up and running will cost $233 million, Del Mastro states announcing the completion of his study. -
Business plan funding
A $115,600 business plan for the railway is announced Jan. 24, 2011
Peterborough MP Dean Del Mastro announces Eastern Ontario Development Program is paying for the business plan that will be done by the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce and BDO Dunwoody -
Economic study and 5-year business plan
Interim reports on five-year business plan and economic study completed March 28.
“The business plan looks extremely positive and profitable,” Shining Waters Railway Authority board chairman Tony Smith says March 30, 2011 -
Preliminary engineering study funding
Provincial government agrees to pay half of the cost to do a $300,000 preliminary engineering study on the rail line. -
Economic impact study
Shining Waters Railway releases results of an economic impact study that estimated the project would create nearly 2,000 jobs and provide $531 million in economic activity during the establishment of the service plus 110 jobs and $13 million per year in economic activity through the operation of the line.