Sharbot Lake slated as a stop on the Shining Waters line

Jeff Green | Jul 26, 2017

Last year then Frontenac County Warden Frances Smith met with representatives from Via Rail who were working on developing a business case for the Shining Waters Railway line, a fast rail that if built, will bring passenger rail from Toronto to Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. They met with Smith because Sharbot Lake was one of the proposed locations for a station along the line.

Smith did not publicize the meeting at the time, thinking the whole thing was a bit speculative and there would be plenty of time to talk about it if it turned out the be a serious possibility. But when the story came out in the community that contractors working for VIA were walking along the abandoned rail line turned trans Canada Trail between Arden and Sharbot Lake evaluating whether the terrain was suitable for a new rail line to be built, things change. Smith brought a short report to Central Frontenac Council about the idea, which was picked up on by The Frontenac News and other media sources at the time.

The idea of a new passenger train traversing Central Frontenac and a station in Sharbot Lake seemed pretty far fetched at the time. After all it has now been generations since Passenger rail in Sharbot Lake. There is Heritage Railway Park, and barely a year earlier the bridge that had enabled trains to pass under Highway 38 had been removed, courtesy of the Province of Ontario. Surely someone at Via or the Federal government would have contacted Ontario before that happened to tell them they were thinking about bring the train back. Also, even if high speed trains were coming to Eastern Ontario (and this has been talked about for 30 years with no action) surely it would end up going through Kingston along the existing rail corridor.

Flash forward to June 29th of this year. Two senior Via Rail officials met over lunch in Kingston with Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender and the current Warden, Ron Vandewal.

They had a map with them, which provided some new information. One major piece of information was that the proposed Shining Waters line (which follows Hwy. 7) seems to now be the preferred option for express passenger train service between Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. The second important piece of information is that the stations are slated for Tweed, Sharbot Lake, and Smiths Falls.

In his account of the meeting, Kelly Pender told Frontenac County Council last week that Via was concerned that the existing route (which follows the 401), uses rail lines that are owned by CN rail, and because of the freight business on those lines it is difficult or impossible for Via to be able to offer the kind of speedy service they need to offer urban travellers between Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. They want to construct a “dedicated line” for passenger and theyn like the Shining Waters Route, partly because it is the most direct connection between Toronto and Ottawa, about 400 km.

Indeed, while Via has not said much about their plans, and apparently they are not that happy that the map of the proposed line has been released to the public, they have been clear that they feel they need to create “dedicated line” for passenger rail.

In a statement on their website, which features a picture of Via Rail President Yves Desjardin Sicilliano, Via said, “The proposed dedicated track, using a new, more efficient train car fleet, is expected to: relieve congestion, particularly in and out of major urban centres; boost economic development and benefits along the railway corridor; Deliver a safer rail infrastructure and a more sustainable rail transportation system; maximize ridership and revenue potential of passenger routes wheere market demand warrants; reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants that contribute to climate change and smog; create a self-funding project that will significantly reduce government subsidies within the corridor. The dedicated tracks project would also allow the re-design of the current frequencies operating on the shared environment to better meet regional needs for increased service.”

As the map shows, there are four stations planned between Toronto and Ottawa, Peterborough, Tweed, Sharbot Lake and Smiths Falls.

There are a lot of issues of concern to residents and business in and around Sharbot Lake if this turned out to be a serious proposal, in particular the location of the trail, which passes a few steps from a number of properties on Brewer Road, the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team, the public beach, Maples Restaurant and a number of houses before crossing Road 38 under a bridge that no longer exists.

The upshot that this brings many risks and opportunities to the local community, and there will be winners and losers if it of something like it goes through.
Unlike proposed commercial projects put forward by private developers, Via is a rail company. The funding for the project would come from them and the federal government. They may be inclined to inform the local community of their plans, but they do not need local approval to proceed. They answer only to federal regulations. The Central Frontenac Official Plan Zoning Bylaw may prevent a cottage from being built too close Sharbot or Big Clear Lakes, but a railroad would just roll tight over it.

If it goes ahead it will certainly be a boon to Smiths Falls, as it will be the location of a line to Brockville, joining the two lines, and passengers going back and forth from Ottawa and communities from Oshawa all the way to Cornwall will have to change trains there.

The big questions for Sharbot Lake concern squeezing the train in between two sides of the lake at the causeway and the beach and what that would mean for residents. As well, there is the question of frequency.

In his report to Frontenac County Council, Kelly Pender said there is talk of up to 15 trains a day, but that only a portion would likely stop in Sharbot Lake.
For residents in Sharbot Lake, that could mean a lot of trains speeding by, perhaps whistling as they go, and a few trains stopping. Unofficially, I have heard that Via may consider an alternate route that does not pass over the causeway at the foot of Sharbot Lake, but there are likely to be winners and losers in that case, and they will need to cross Road 38 at some point and no one wants a level crossing.

But the situation is this. If Via chooses Shining Waters they will need to either pass though or near Sharbot Lake one way or another. If this happens, having a station in or very near Sharbot Lake would represent the most significant opportunity for economic development since, well since the train left.
Via Rail seems to want to do this, and they want to do it over the next five years, or even less.

The whole thing is still pretty hard to believe, but the idea that Kingston is being passed over for high speed rail in favour of Frontenac County does have a nice ring to it.