City's vision for rail means scrapping old lines to Windsor ON

Source: Windsor Star - 08-10-28

Hoping to spur construction of new Via rail station close to downtown, elimination of more than four-dozen at-grade crossings, and consolidation of freight rail yards and tracks, city council gave final approval Monday on its future vision for railways in Windsor.

A community based strategic rail study done in co-operation with Transport Canada and the nation's major railway companies took two years to complete. The 75-page report recommends abandoning the old CN railway line being used by Via Rail between Chatham and Windsor.

Via would instead use an enhanced CP corridor, located further to the south, and also relocate its station in Windsor, likely to an area off Crawford Avenue or Wellington Avenue. That combination alone would cost about $175 million, the study indicated.

It also called for abandoning the CASO rail corridor in South Windsor, again in favour of freight trains using the enhanced CP corridor at a cost of about $38M. Despite approval, councilors realize it may take decades for recommendations in the rail study to become reality because of a lack of funding and competitive nature of the rail companies.

Mayor Eddie Francis told council he has been informed by the rail companies there is no way implementation of the recommendations can happen without federal government funding.

But Transport Canada has not yet made any commitments to the plan and is reviewing its implications, said a spokesman on Monday night. "We are currently reviewing this very comprehensive report and are not in a position to make any comment at this time," said Mark Butler. "Ultimately, any of the recommendations outlined in the report will require collaboration of the different rail companies and other players."

The changes involving Via are most likely to happen and are described as phase one in the study, being looked for completion within a 10-year time frame, according to Steve Kapusta, policy analyst for the city's public works department, who worked on the final report. "In terms of Via, they have a plan for infrastructure improvements all along Windsor to Quebec City," he said.