Point: Should the Provincial Government Build High Speed Rail To Kitchener-Waterloo?

The Liberal Provincial Government recently announced a proposed High Speed Rail (HSR) line from London to Toronto, with stops in Kitchener and at Pearson Airport. Funding for this project would be a piece of the non-greater Toronto area transit budget of $14 Billion over 10 years.  About two-thirds of that money would come from dedicated revenue tools, including restricting tax credits for large corporations and redirection of gas taxes, about a quarter of it from provincial borrowing and the rest from the federal government. The High Speed Rail project should cost $2-3 billion, but the Liberals expect to recover all but $500 million from fare revenues.

The Progressive Conservatives (PC’s) are pushing for better integration of Go Transit and TTC subway by transferring subway service to Metrolinx, the same provincial agency that runs Go Transit.  The PC’s also want to expand both Go Train service and expand highways. Like the PC’s, the NDP is focusing mostly on Subway expansion, but they are also interested in expanding rail service in Northern Ontario. Both opposition parties have been non-committal on service to Kitchener-Waterloo so far.

The Liberal plan of high speed rail would take passengers from Kitchener to downtown Toronto in 48 minutes for a ‘competitive price’. For comparison, Via costs $25 and the Go Train is $16, they both take about two hours to reach Union Station. The exact route has yet to be determined, but a speed of 320 km/h has been provided.

High Speed Rail has the potential to transform Waterloo, Ontario, and even all of Canada. A HSR link between London and Toronto is but only the first step in a proper (ie.  European) rail network that could connect 18 million people from Windsor to Quebec City. This could drive our economy, make our population more fluid, and connect people who never dreamed of being so close. HSR along the corridor between Windsor and Quebec City has been studied since the 70’s, with very little progress.

This project doesn’t offer that grand solution of connecting half of Canada’s population, but it creates momentum. Once one portion of the entire route is built, the concept of HSR in Canada can be proven and expanded on.

Granted, this is not the busiest portion of the route, but it is the most feasible. The 200 or so kilometers of track connecting London and Toronto would serve about 875,000 people outside of Toronto. This compares to 430 kilometers of track serving 1,500,000 people in Belleville, Kingston, and Ottawa. Hamilton’s 720,000 inhabitants could be connected by only 70 kilometers of track, but this brings up the question of appropriate technology.

Someone from Hamilton can currently catch the Go Train and get to downtown Toronto in about 70 minutes. This could of course be improved with HSR technology, but the effectiveness of HSR is dependent on its ability to cruise at top speed over long distances. The great distances from London to Kitchener and Kitchener to Pearson Airport allow a train to be at top speed for a larger percentage of the entire trip than a Hamilton to Toronto route. A good alternative would be to electrify the current route to Hamilton to allow the trains to accelerate faster and save time with every stop.

Now is the time to start building improved connections to Toronto. With the arrival of light rail transit in Kitchener-Waterloo in 2017, someone could go door to door from KW to Toronto, all onboard the comfort of rail transit. Light rail transit will funnel people from the outer reaches of the system at Conestoga Mall and Fairview Park Mall to the train station in downtown Kitchener. These two new transportation systems could be at the forefront of a massive change in KW.

KW’s thriving tech industry has been pleading for better transit connections for years now. Google is even bussing employees in from Toronto to their Kitchener office. Right now just one meeting in Toronto can cripple an entire day of someone who works in KW.  If they were to take the train, they would have to wait an entire day to catch the return train. Even with all day Go Train service, upwards of 4 hours is spent in transit for a return trip. HSR would cut that time in half, and allow any working person to reclaim their day after a meeting out of town.

The ability to access funding on Bay Street is so incredibly important for the start-ups that will eventually lead our city. Just as important is access to Silicon Valley funding. A direct link t0 Pearson International Airport makes that trip so much more bearable, you wouldn’t even have to park your car at the airport. With the recent cancelation of direct flights from Waterloo to Ottawa, the future of air travel from Waterloo comes into question. A direct link to Canada’s largest airport will put a nail in the Waterloo airport’s coffin, and allow people living in KW to have easy access to a much larger selection of flights from Pearson.

The Provincial Liberal’s high speed rail proposal is the only one on the table that would benefit London. Just as KW’s industry would benefit from increased connectedness, so would London’s.

Finally, the largest impact of HSR is the benefits for the environment. We are all aware of the contributions of automobiles to greenhouse gasses. HSR provides the best incentive possible to get people out of their cars. Not only will someone be able to reach their destination faster, they will be able to do it in comfort. Trains offer a space where work can be done, books can be read, or even some shut eye can be obtained. High Speed Rail offers the ultimate convenience, and has the best chance to get people to change their transportation habits.