Council approves funding for commuter rail study
Posted Jan 11, 2012 06:05:42 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Regional councillors have moved one step closer to establishing commuter rail service in HRM.
Councillors have voted in favour of spending $250,000 on a feasibility study of a rail link from Enfield to Windsor Junction that would use existing CN tracks and refurbished dayliners.
Coun. Barry Dalrymple (Waverly-Fall River-Beaver Bank) supported the study, saying it’s time to talk to CN Rail and Via Rail about their participation.
“If they’re not going to cooperate, if they’re not going to give us pricing at a reasonable cost, so people can afford to take the train, it’s over,” said Dalrymple during Tuesday’s council meeting. “But we don’t know that and we have never known that since the HRM has been in existence. And there’s only one way that we are going to find out.”
A municipal staff report has suggested the capital startup costs for the commuter rail system would be about $30.9 million plus $6.6 million annually in operating costs.
Coun. Jennifer Watts (Connaught-Quinpool) said council had looked at the issue before, but new information suggests the rail service is a more realistic possibility.
“Commuter rail looks more possible than what had previously been understood,” said Watts. “That’s because of some of the cost comparisons between the bus and the ferry. Previous to that time, there had been this real dampening of rail.”
The study will determine if there is enough interest in the service and routes.
Coun. Dawn Sloane (Halifax Downtown) says it’s high time the municipality invested in a mass transit option that will help reduce the number of cars on the road.
“We have to be looking at the way we can get people around our city, so that we’re not looking for parking spots,” said Sloane. “We already know that that’s becoming a problem. Congestion. People complaining about sitting in traffic. That’s not ecologically viable. So, I say we go ahead with this. It may be the best money we’ve spent in a long time.”
HRM is currently in the middle of a legal dispute with CN Rail over who is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of train bridges.
