Ontario Moving Forward with Environmental Assessment for High Speed Rail

GTA Weekly
high speed rail train

Project Will Cut Travel Times for Commuters and Families

Ontario is continuing progress to introduce high speed rail to the Toronto-Windsor corridor, which will cut people’s travel times and create new opportunities for workers, businesses and families.

Ontario issued a Request for Bids (RFB) today to develop the environmental assessment terms of reference for the Kitchener-Waterloo to London portion of the corridor.

The terms of reference will provide a framework for planning and the environmental assessment, which will look at how all aspects of the project could affect the environment, including how stations are built, track locations, energy requirements, expected ridership, and parking needs. As high speed rail will be a new service for Ontario and Canada, new train and safety standards will be developed with Transport Canada to inform the environmental assessment process.

Investing in high speed rail is part of Ontario’s plan to create fairness and opportunity during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, easier access to affordable child care, and free prescription drugs for everyone under 25 through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation.

Quick Facts

  • The high speed rail line will serve more than seven million people. The proposed stops are Windsor, Chatham, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Toronto Union Station, with a connection to Pearson International Airport.
  • A transportation system that efficiently connects people, places and goods is part of Ontario’s plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) Region. The province is currently seeking input on a draft set of goals and objectives for the GGH Transportation Plan. Take the survey by Dec. 23, 2017.
  • Ontario will engage with Indigenous communities, private and public partners, including municipalities, during the environmental assessment, design work and ridership forecasting process.
  • Ontario launched a website that will be updated as the environmental assessment progresses, including what high speed rail will mean for people in Southwestern Ontario and across the province.
  • Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, public transit, roads and bridges in the province’s history. To learn more about what’s happening in your community, go to Ontario.ca/BuildON.

Additional Resources

Quotes

Steven Del Duca

“I am very happy to announce our progress in bringing high speed rail to southwestern Ontario—connecting communities and investing in a future-ready transportation system. This historic project is the first of its kind in Canada, and will be one of the largest planning and environmental assessments our province has ever completed. We are investing in modern, integrated transit that will make life easier for commuters and families, and get people where they need to go faster.”

Steven Del Duca

Minister of Transportation

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