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rfmcdonaldCBC reports that today is the last day of operations for the Northlander passenger train that ran between Toronto and the northern Ontario town of North Bay, providing a vital transport link for many northern Ontarians.
The problem for the line, as James Bow noted in his April 2012 post "The Fall of the Northlander?", is that the Northlander is an uneconomic route, with a per-passenger subsidy of between 200 and 400 dollars. Better promotion by the provincial government of travel opportunities could have changed this, Bow argues, but that's clearly an issue not up for discussion at this very late stage.
The problem for the line, as James Bow noted in his April 2012 post "The Fall of the Northlander?", is that the Northlander is an uneconomic route, with a per-passenger subsidy of between 200 and 400 dollars. Better promotion by the provincial government of travel opportunities could have changed this, Bow argues, but that's clearly an issue not up for discussion at this very late stage.
The final Northlander train departed Cochrane Friday morning — and many people are taking the opportunity for one last ride.
More than a century of rail history is not fading away without acknowledgement as the passenger service was cancelled with the provincial government’s decision to get out of the rail business. The last round trip train travelled from Toronto to Cochrane Thursday and was expected to return Friday morning.
Former Ontario Northland Rail workers like Lorne Fleece — who started with the railway in 1949 — hopped on board to reminisce.
“I would say I have over 20,000 miles in train travel,” he said.
[. . .]
Two MPPs also boarded the final northbound train from Toronto to Cochrane — not for medical reasons, but to protest the train's cancellation. Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP John Vanthof was joined at Union Station by Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson.
“I’m still stunned at the short sightedness of this decision,” said Vanthof.
“The Liberal government is shuttering the ONTC to save a few dollars, while they waste millions of dollars buying seats in the GTA. Once again, northerners are being left out in the cold. The fact that they won’t even maintain service through the Thanksgiving weekend just speaks to their total indifference to the North.”
When the brakes are applied for the final time on the Northlander, it will mark the end of more than 100 years of passenger rail history on the route.
The province has committed to keeping the Polar Bear Express running, however, and says it plans to enhance bus service.
