Transportation

Toronto’s $8.4 billion light rapid transit sell out

Nov 292012

Ridership on the TTC is increasing steadily despite its users bearing the cost of provincial underfunding.

Privatization with no public consultation.

from The Bullet, produced by the Socialist Project

It seemed all our transit woes in Toronto were finally behind us. Mayor Rob Ford's cancellation of Transit City had galvanized the mushy middle. In February, Toronto Council ignored his call for subways to vote in favour of four Light Rapid Transit lines (LRTs). At long last, the residents of Malvern and Jane and Finch in Toronto's northern suburbs were going to get some much needed public transit. In retrospect this was only the lull before the storm. No one suspected that it signified the end of locally controlled, maintained and operated public transit. Two months later, the Ontario provincial government made the announcement that Metrolinx, a provincial arms-length agency meant to coordinate regional planning, was taking over for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Expansion Department. Construction of $8.4-billion worth of LRTs was being pushed back to 2014. They needed the extra time to pursue Alternate Funding Procurement (AFP) otherwise known as a public-private partnership (P3).

Coalition calls for reversal of Ontario Northland Railway decision

Sep 202012

Transportation

Jobs, economy and safety in the North depend on it.

The Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains recommends reconnecting Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury.

SAULT STE MARIE, ON, September 18, 2012: In a few short days, the passenger train we know as the Northlander will be history, a victim of decades of short-sighted government policies that have not recognized that a fundamental necessity of a sustainable economy and culture is the ability to move people and goods efficiently, effectively and safely year-round, according to the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains.

Rail is the most efficient, effective and safest means of transportation for people and freight travelling medium to long distances especially in a region that has a tough winter.

The Northlander is a traditional passenger train that, with the decline in rail in Canada, has become a unique transportation service that has supported the economy of North Eastern Ontario for numerous decades but has been touted by the government as too costly for the number of patrons utilizing the service.