Creation of a High Speed Rail (HSR) connection between London, Kitchener, Pearson and Union Station could do wonders for transportation in Central and South-Western Ontario. To be able to travel from London to Downtown Toronto in just over one hour would be a huge step forward from where we are now. Not only would travel times be better through the corridor via the HSR, but it would free up additional space on the 401 through the west side of the GTA. This is touted as benefitting not only the regions on the rail line, but also surrounding regions through transportation service improvements. However, this is not necessarily the case.
Not only is this HSR line not needed, it is also a bad idea.
I am not saying that an investment in transit is not needed (as a transportation student in Civil Engineering that would go against my knowledge, training and understanding of how transportation works), but this is not the right project. I have several reasons for thinking this. Primarily, all of these regions are serviced with other modes of transportation. Each of these regions has an international airport with quite a few planes travelling between Toronto and London daily. Kitchener has a GO Train line with two trains departing in the morning and returning at night. Pearson and Union station are soon to be connected by the Union Pearson Express (airport rail link) which will drastically improve transportation access for travellers and tourists. Additionally, the London to Kitchener portion of the 401 is lightly travelled, at least compared to the Kitchener to Toronto portion of the 401.
There are clearly other options, as there have been for years. The largest benefit to London and Kitchener would be the speed at which this HSR would travel (around 320km/h) resulting in a much reduced commute and much greater connectivity between these cities which are geographically far apart. Unfortunately we can’t just pull HSR out of the sky and make it pay for itself. A price tag of 2-3 billion dollars is enough to make anyone think twice, even if the net cost in 15 years is only 500 million (which I find quite difficult to believe). As there is a provincial election coming soon, many candidates will think of better ways to spend that capital to get more votes.
Adding an HSR between cities already connected by air and rail will not be an efficient use of these funds, as it will result in redundancy and competition which would likely end in losses of flights from London and reduced GO train service. The only way that this would make sense is if there were plans to connect this rail line to another regional airport, to reduce the demand on both Pearson and Toronto Island Airports. Unfortunately, this is not in the plan, so I have a difficult time understanding the choice for this particular configuration when there are many other options.
GO Transit operates both bus service and train service in Kitchener already, which is especially popular here on campus. The rail line through Kitchener is very underutilized, especially given the need for an HSR connection. I think that a much more feasible and economical solution to this transit problem could be an expansion of the Kitchener – Union rail line. One of the main benefits of the HSR plan is the time savings compared to an average trip on the 401. If the Kitchener GO line was upgraded, expanded and prioritized, the same time savings could be present. The main benefit of rail over roadway is the exclusivity and priority of the line. Taking the GO Train during rush hour would clearly save time, as there would be no gridlock, no stoplights, and no stops aside from stations. If more trains were used and the tracks were upgraded to support a higher travel speed, the net effect could be identical- not to mention the additional regions that would receive full rail service. With the current HSR plan, larger regions like Guelph, Brampton, Sarnia, Mississauga, Woodstock and Milton would get no benefit aside from reduced traffic on the 401 corridor. This benefit may seem good, but if the 401 is less clogged, more people will drive to fill up the holes. No new mode of transportation can entirely solve this issue, but making the existing transit more accessible and increasing capacity is a good and relatively inexpensive way to start.
The current HSR plan is just getting started, with an Environmental Assessment and Feasibility Study taking four years to complete. Since there is no finalized layout, I cannot comment on the infrastructure requirements for this project, but I can only imagine what routes they have come up with already. Any route along the 401 will restrict 401 expansion and will require substantial structural rebuild. Any route north of the 401 will intersect with the GO Transit line and the 407 already passing through the area in the same direction, not to mention Brampton and Guelph which will be in the way. Any route south of the 401 (it will definitely have to cross the 401 to get from Pearson to Union) will pass through some major population centres like Milton and Mississauga. Each one of these routes will require demolition of relatively new structures and will create delay to each municipality that the tracks will pass through. It becomes very difficult to justify the inconvenience when the HSR will only have 4 stops.
A project I could possibly get behind would be a HSR built between Toronto and Hamilton with local routes travelling to Kitchener, London and St. Catharines, but that wouldn’t necessarily solve the 401 traffic problems. However, the proposed High Speed Rail link between London and Union Station in Toronto is extremely expensive, quite unnecessary, will provide service to limited regions outside of the GTA, and will inconvenience many other regions in the process. This, is in my opinion, not a good investment.
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