[ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
This past week at the VIA Rail’s Toronto Maintenance Centre in South Etobicoke, Premier Ford announced the arrival of the first of three trainsets that will form the revived Ontario Northland service from Toronto to Timmins. Produced by major rolling stock manufacturer Siemens Mobility in Sacramento, California, these new trains are expected to begin carrying passengers across Ontario as early as late 2026.<\/p>\n
Set to travel from Toronto’s Union Station to Timmins with a further connection to Cochrane available, the Ontario Northland – colloquially known as the “Northlander” – will serve as a continuation of over a century of rail service between the province’s capital and its northern expanses. Tracks were first laid across the northernmost segment of the contemporary railway in the early 20th century. Seeking to improve resource extraction, primarily of minerals and timber, various private and public initiatives drove the tracks through hundreds of kilometres of dense forest and marshland during the first half of the 1900s. Ownership of the rail line would change hands numerous times over the following decades, but by the 2000s, the corridor was provincially owned and operated. Citing stagnant passenger numbers and cost-savings associated with bus replacements, in 2012 then Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the end of rail service, with the last run from Cochrane to Toronto occurring on September 28th, 2012.<\/p>\n A decade after the end of train service in April of 2022, the Province of Ontario released an Initial Business Case that outlined plans for a revival of the Northlander train, paired with an initial $75 million investment. Later that year, a $139.5 million contract was awarded to Siemens Mobility, one of the largest rolling stock manufacturers in the world, to produce three new train sets for the revived service.\u00a0<\/p>\n After more than two years of assembly, the first of three trainsets\u2014each consisting of one locomotive and three passenger cars\u2014has arrived at VIA Rail\u2019s Toronto Maintenance Centre. Situated jointly with GO Transit’s Willowbrook Yard, residents of South Etobicoke may recognize the vast site as the rail yard which Islington Avenue passes over on a nearly kilometre-long viaduct.<\/p>\n Following a brief stopover, the trainset will travel east along the Oakville Subdivision and then transition toward the Northlander\u2019s route, the southernmost stretch of which is shared with the Richmond Hill GO line. From there, it will head north to undergo rigorous systems testing to ensure safe and reliable operations.<\/p>\n While no official opening date has been announced, the projected schedule for the service has been published. Those who currently utilize the Ontario Northland bus, whether from Toronto to Bracebridge or from Timmins to Washago, can expect significant time savings. Today, traveling the entire length of the coach line from Timmins to Toronto takes just under eleven and a half hours, with a transfer required in Sudbury. Upon the return of rail service, that same trip will be cut down by nearly an hour, coming in at ten hours and forty minutes. With private vehicle travel times ranging from seven to nine hours for the same trip, contingent on traffic and weather conditions, the Northlander is set to provide a viable alternative to driving.<\/p>\n The most dramatic time savings, however, are likely to be seen in the southernmost section of the line, between Muskoka and Toronto. During summer months, as cottagers flock north, traffic-snarling backups along the 400 and 404 expressways are a regular occurrence. As a result, trips made between Bracebridge and Toronto by car can fluctuate between two and four hours, with current bus service averaging nearly four hours for the same journey. With the resumption of traffic-free train travel, passengers can expect a consistent two-and-a-half-hour trip from Union Station to Bracebridge.<\/p>\n UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on the return of Ontario Northland rail service. If you’d like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum threads or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n UrbanToronto’s research and data service, UTPro, provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe\u2014from proposal through to completion. Other services include Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.<\/p>\n <\/imgx><\/imgx><\/imgx><\/imgx><\/imgx><\/imgx><\/div>\n