Following lobbying of the federal government by the mayors of Kingston and South Frontenac and recent comments by Ontario premier Doug Ford, concerns are emerging in Peterborough that the city’s stop on the proposed Alto high-speed rail network could be at risk.
However, Alto says its plans have not changed.
The Crown corporation has confirmed that Peterborough remains one of seven planned stops on the proposed 1,000-kilometre high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City.
On Wednesday (March 18), kawarthaNOW spoke to Alto’s senior advisor of corporate communications Crystal Jongeward, who provided the following statement:
“Our mandate from the government of Canada remains the same — to develop a high-speed rail network between Ontario and Quebec, which includes seven stations: Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City.”
“Nothing has changed in our mandate,” Jongeward added. “All of those station stops that we’ve been consulting on remain.”
Alto is currently conducting a public consultation on a 10-kilometre-wide corridor for the proposed rail network between Toronto and Quebec City, which includes a northern option and a southern option between Ottawa and Peterborough. Establishing the corridor is a preliminary step in determining the 60-metre right-of-way for Alto’s final alignment (route).
The northern option reduces travel distance and community impacts, but involves complex work in remote and sensitive areas. The southern option is less direct but simplifies construction and operations.
Since Alto began its public consultation, which included an open house in Peterborough on February 26, there has been pushback from rural communities in southeastern Ontario about the southern option for the corridor.
On March 9, the mayors of Kingston and South Frontenac issued a joint statement calling on the federal government to build the proposed Alto high-speed rail project along Highway 401 and add a stop in Kingston.
Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson and South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal have argued that the corridor’s southern option — which would travel just north of Belleville, Kingston, and Brockville — will result in the destruction and fragmentation of farmland, wetlands, and rural communities, disrupting agriculture and tourism and recreation businesses.
The two mayors have proposed that Alto instead shift the southern option further to the south along Highway 401, to minimize the impact on rural areas and alleviate fears of land expropriation, and that Alto add a stop in Kingston.
When asked by reporters at an event in Brockville on Monday (March 16), Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he supports the idea.
“I agree 100 per cent, follow the 401 corridor,” Ford said. “Don’t start taking farmers’ land and everything else out — just follow the 401 corridor. It makes sense. And maybe make a stop in Kingston.”
Since Highway 401 is located more than 80 kilometres south of Peterborough, Ford’s comments have raised concerns — including among city officials — that Alto’s southern corridor for the corridor would no longer encompass Peterborough.
On Tuesday, the City of Peterborough posted on Facebook that “Peterborough must be part of Ontario’s high-speed rail future,” encouraging locals to share their support through Alto’s online public consultation, which has been extended until April 24.
“Residents and businesses have a chance to advocate strongly for Peterborough to be included,” the Facebook post states.
In its statement, Alto says it is currently working to refine the alignment “within the corridors already under study” — implying that a Highway 401 option is not on the table.
As for concerns raised by rural communities, Alto states that “Whenever possible, the project will seek to follow existing infrastructure corridors such as highways, railways, or energy corridors in order to limit impacts on communities and the surrounding environment.”
“Given public consultations are still ongoing, and we’ve not refined the corridor yet, it’s too early to speak to specific routing considerations for a specific locale.”
