NORTH BAY, Ontario — The province of Ontario has purchased 125 miles of track from Canadian National for the Ontario Northland Railway as part of its preparations for the return of Northlander passenger train service, ensuring operational priority for the passenger service.
The government announced on Thursday, March 13, that it is purchasing the 205-kilometer section of CN’s Newmarket Subdivision between Washago and North Bay for Ca$138 million. The route was once part of CN’s transcontinental main line but was severed from the main line in the 1990s, leaving it in two segments. A 60-mile (96-kilometer) segment between Barrie and Toronto was purchased by provincial transit agency Metrolinx in 2009 for use by GO Transit commuter trains.
The purchase of the line — which last saw passenger service with the end of the original Northlander service on Sept. 28, 2012 — will “prioritize passenger service by supporting fast, reliable service along the line,” Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said in a press release. Passenger trains have no right of preference in Canada, and Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister of economic development, said at Thursday’s event announcing the purchase that the prior version of the Northlander often suffered delays for freight traffic.
Many of the stations previously used by the Northlander remain along the line. The planned schedule for the new train includes stops at Washago, North Bay, and four intermediate stations.
The move will also streamline freight operations, the government said, eliminating a time-consuming interchange between CN and ONR at North Bay. The route is currently served by CN trains 450 and 451, as well as local train 595, operated out of Huntsville, Ont.; Ontario Northland will handle the freight traffic going forward.
The purchase positions ONR’s parent, the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a provincial Crown agency, to upgrade the line’s infrastructure.
No date has yet been set for the launch of the Northlander. Ontario Northland CEO Chad Evans told the My Parry Sound Now news site that the first of the three Siemens Venture trainsets purchased for the service has begun dynamic testing in the Toronto area after a series of static tests. In the “coming weeks and months,” he said, the first trainset will begin testing on the full Northlander route, and the other two trainsets will be delivered and begin similar testing.
— Stephen Host contributed to this report. To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
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