Overview

Fast, efficient, and cost-effective public transportation is vital to both rural and urban Ontario. Improved rail transportation is one piece of a comprehensive, integrated transportation system for all of Ontario.

The High-Speed Rail (HSR) would transport passengers at up to 300km/h. This would significantly reduce travel times between key destinations in Ontario and Quebec. The proposed HSR project is a new network of electrified and dedicated tracks that extends over 1,000 km. Electrified trains and the use of dual-powered technology (for segments of the route that may still require diesel) would significantly reduce the environmental footprint of intercity travel.

Government estimates a new conventional or high-speed rail line would cost $6 to $12 billion, delivered through a public private partnership. A recent C.D. Howe study on High Frequency Rail estimates the economic benefits of investing in the proposed Rapid Train project in the Toronto-Québec City corridor to be $11-$17 billion under conventional rail (CR) scenarios, and $15-$27 billion under high-speed rail (HSR) scenarios. OFA calls for a comprehensive analysis of costs and benefits of any new dedicated passenger rail system proposal including costs to rural residents, communities, and farm businesses to determine the viability of such a system; including, but not limited to:

• cost and safety implications for rail crossings
• the social and economic impacts of a conventional or High-Speed Rail corridor physically dividing Ontario
• drainage related implications and costs to nearby farms and rural properties
• the impacts for communities across Ontario not near or on the new dedicated line; further losses to VIA service and lost opportunities for local economic and population growth (Producing Prosperity in Ontario)
• the impacts of the removal of rural and agricultural land needed for a new dedicated rail line

OFA Position

The OFA is highly skeptical that the proposed High-Speed Rail concept will provide sustainable, effective, and efficient transportation with any net benefit for Ontarians. For rural and small towns, it downloads all the associated problems, with none of the ascribed benefits. OFA is calling for a comprehensive analysis of costs and benefits of High-Speed Rail proposal including all costs and benefits applicable to rural residents, communities, and farm businesses. 

OFA is concerned about the impact these special rails would have on farm operations, including potential severances and farm access for large equipment. While the Canada Transportation Act (1996) guarantees the right to a crossing through newly built railways, this requirement is difficult to fulfill safely when trains travel at 300km/h. Additionally, the dimensions of a rail crossing may limit its farm’s future growth and ability to pivot business operations. Farm equipment is increasing in size and complexity, and there is no indication this trend will reverse. Farmers must be guaranteed in perpetuity safe access to their lands and the ability to convey people, equipment, and crops across the rail line.

Should the High-Speed Rail project proceed, OFA wants to see a commitment from the railways to be responsible for the construction and maintenance of essential safety infrastructure, including fencing.