Is that the sound of a distant train?

Jeff Green | Apr 07, 2021

A report in the Globe and Mail, last month, predicted that one of the major infrastructure measures that will be included in the federal budget this month, will be funding for the next phase of a high frequency passenger rail project between Quebec City – Montreal – Ottawa and Toronto.

The project has been proposed by VIA Rail and has already received $71 million in federal funds in order to do preliminary work and develop a business plan. Building out the route will cost $4.4 billion for a diesel/electric train, more for a fully electric version.

VIA has provided very limited detail about the project to the public, apart from a single page on the VIA website.

The page shows that the plan is to make use of existing tracks as well as “discontinued and lower density freight rail infrastructure between Toronto-Peterborough-Ottawa, Ottawa Dorion-Montreal and Montreal-Trois-Rivières-Québec City”.

The page includes a map, which indicates what VIA officials envision making use of the former rail line that runs through Tay Valley, Central Frontenac and Addington Highlands. The former line is owned by the local townships and is being used as a recreational trail. It is part of the Great Trail, which many people still know as the Trans Canada Trail.

Earlier mapping of the project included a proposed station in Sharbot Lake. The current mapping (see below) does not do so.

There is an asterisk at the bottom of the page, however.

“*Additional stops between Toronto and Quebec City on the new dedicated tracks may be added in consultation with the communities.”

As it heads east, the Great Trail dips to the south of Highway 7 at Kaladar, runs south of Big Clear Lake at Arden , through Mountain Grove and on the southern shore of the west basin of Sharbot Lake along Brewer Road. It then turns and crosses into the village Sharbot Lake, running past the medical centre and beach, before crossing Road 38 and proceeding behind Granite Ridge Education Centre. It crosses Fall River Road at Highway 7 and after Maberly it follows the Old Brooke Valley Road towards Perth.

A group of Sharbot Lake residents have developed a proposal that they would like to present to VIA rail. They would have the new line diverge from The Great Trail and follow the Highway 7 corridor between Kaladar and Perth instead of bisecting Sharbot Lake.

The group, which calls itself the Sharbot Lake VIA Rail Station Committee, is also advocating for a station at or near the junction of Hwy. 7 and Road 38.

Committee members went door to door, in the hamlet of Sharbot Lake, with a document they have prepared about their proposal. “As of this date, in a survey of 223 residents at 157 individual addresses, 216 (90%) of respondents preferred the Highway 7 corridor, 11 (5%) preferred the route through the village, and 12 (5%) had no preference,” said Ken Fisher, a member of the Railway Station Committee.

“This informal survey reveals two strongly and widely held views. First, there is an overwhelming preference that the High Frequency Rail does not run through the village. Second, there is a desire for meaningful consultation before any decisions are made. If VIA comes consulting, these voices want to be heard,” he added.

Federal budget day is Monday, April 19th.