With the former Huntsville Train Station in private hands and the planned return of passenger rail to Huntsville, Ontario Northland said it plans to construct glass shelters at many stop locations along the future Northlander corridor, including in Huntsville.
“The shelters will be well lit, heated, have next train arrival information and access to wifi,” stated Kate Bondett, Communications and Issues Management Specialist for Ontario Northland via email correspondence
She indicated that the production of nine shelters is currently out for tender with installation in Huntsville anticipated in 2025. “The Huntsville shelter will be located in close proximity to the former station at 26 Station Road,” she added.
UPDATE: Follow-up questions including plans for the bus stop which is open to the elements, went unanswered. “We look forward to sharing more once the tender has been awarded,” wrote Bondett.
Train station owners said that at this time they have not been approached by [Ontario Northland Rail], according to Scott Richardson.
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To the person that asked, I believe the GoTrain / Bus has heated glass shelters in the GTA, dont quote me, its been many years since I used the service. Also, its been many MORE years since I used the Northlander train and I loved it but its vital issue was playing second fiddle to the cargo trains. You’d be waiting down there for it 2-3 hours late and the Northlander bus would just pull in to get you because the train was stuck somewhere up north still. But when it was on time, it was an awesome way to get to Toronto. Bar / dining car, nice big washrooms etc and same price as the bus. far better way to travel and you guys better use it and defend it from future liberal gov’ts that try to shut it down again.
Good point about the missing parcel service (shipping and receiving). I used that in the past, and had forgotten about it in this conversation. Well remembered. Let’s hope that can return.
My family was big railroad people, I can’t understand why yous don’t use old historical building to house this instead of tax payers money to build something that is already there, as always waste money on something that is already there thanks
I like Rivière-Anderson’s comments along with most of the others.
The existing old train station was always an issue for bus access due to the sharp corners and steep slope of the access road. Also very little parking in that area.
The current bus stop is a bit of a sad joke for a place the size of Huntsville. Really, those two benches out in the open, no shelter, not even a bush to pee on, is this real? A dog park has more and better facilities than we provide here for people.
If a bit of a bus station, with inside waiting, washroom, maybe a snack bar was built on the main street level and a good covered walkway made down to the train station that might work. Keeping the train station, whether it be the old one or a new smaller one, in more or less the same place is good for the railway. There are already enough tracks that trains could pass here and some rail car storage exists.
If we expect people to take the train to the city then there has to be secure parking for those people to be able to leave their car for a few days at a time very near the station. Failing this option maybe a parking area could be created nearby and a taxi shuttle could cheaply and speedily move people to and from the stations.
It would be really nice to have the train and bus stations at least close enough together to easily walk between them. At a casual first look it would appear to me that maybe another location out on the side of Commerce Park, might work. A new train station could be built and connected to the motel row beside Walmart with a good all weather walkway. If one of these hotels was paid to operate a “station” as part of their lobby area and the bus stopped there that would look after the bus well. If the train station was just a short walk away, then both could maybe be located in this area. It is pretty industrial already. There are lots of motel rooms and several restaurants all an easy walk one from the other and there are car dealers in this area too that could maybe handle rentals. It is level land and the bus could easily pull in and back to the main highway. Most of the problems of access to the old station would not exist in this area. It might even be possible to squeeze in some fenced long term parking.
Another, often overlooked aspect is bus parcel express. We used to use this quite a bit to move things along the bus route. The bus will still do this. It is not expensive and pretty fast but Huntsville cannot ship or accept anything at all now as there is no place to receive or ship the parcels.
It is really sad that the town can spend so much on so many things and not have decent public transit stations for bus and train. It used to be that we had a really good bus station at the old Empire Hotel and the old train station was a fixture for as long as I care to remember but now, despite a lot of technical advances we seem to have lost both these assets. In the future we are not just going to have to move from fossil fueled cars but quite likely a significant percentage of people will prefer not to own a car at all and travel by bus or train like they already do in a lot of Europe. We would be wise I think to put a bit of thought into making this all work for Huntsville.
People will use “cheap” and they will pay for “fast and convenient or luxury”. At the moment generally in most of Canada, bus and train are not cheap, nor fast, and often quite inconvenient so it is no surprise that they are not in big demand. It did not used to be this way.
Agree with most of what’s written above.
The service has to be attractive in all areas from amenities to service connections to pricing to succeed.
I really want a very successful launch and look forward to riding the train.
A big Thank You to all those working to bring the train back … which should have never stopped, but needed improvements.
All the best !!
In speaking with Kate Bondett of Ontario Northland, more detailed information will be made available the end of February after the tenders close Jan 23 and a selection is made. At the moment we know the shelters will be constructed of glass and aluminum, with accessible entry, seating, infra-red heating, with power supplied for the CCTV camera, intercom device, Wi-Fi access point, and horn speaker. The Shelters are required for phased delivery over Summer/Fall 2024 and Summer/Fall 2025.
Shelter Locations shall be at the following reinstated station locations within the Province of Ontario: Matheson, Kirkland Lake (Swastika), Temiskaming Shores (New Liskeard), Temagami, South River, Huntsville, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Washago.
The only existing stations to be utilized for passenger services are Cochrane, Engelhardt and North Bay.
For updated information, I suggest you connect with the Ontario Northland site at
https://ontarionorthland.ca/en/travel/northlander-passenger-train and sign up for their email updates. And for connecting with Lucille at the Northeastern Ontario Rail Network use the email [email protected]
And yes I agree we need a Transportation Depot, just as it was suggest by the Huntsville Train Station Society to our Town Council in 2004!! Can’t believe that’s 20 years ago.
See you on the train in 2026!! Lucille
Mr. Holland, I would expect this is the long term solution. In the meantime…
“shelters will be well lit, heated, have next train arrival information and access to wifi”
Never heard of a heated “bus shelter” but, great. What any public transit user would rate high as a terminal facility is a toilet. Where would one have to walk to from the former train station area to reach one (in time)?
Good there will be notice of next arrival. More important if they were to be on time. Is that likely, given the non-ownership of track and the priority of freight for the track owners?
Reality check aside, I do hope for a useable train service.
What happened to the planning for the inviting Huntsville multimodal transportation hub in cooperation with the train station owners? The owners said upon purchase that they would always accommodate passengers if the train returned. Is NEORN going to weigh in on this? Has Ontario Northland consulted with the train station owners? What is the Town doing to maximize this opportunity? As demonstrated around the world, success or failure of train travel includes an attractive station venue with complete amenities: hot drinks, food, washrooms, warm Muskoka atmosphere, tourist information, local transit, vehicle rental desk for access to attractions, hotels, and resorts for passengers arriving without personal vehicles. In other words, a true welcoming travel hub for residents and tourists alike.
Let’s do this right!
I agree with Mr. Jardine’s letter ,especialy the sad situation of the passangers waiting for the bus out in the elements. It is sad and disgraceful situation. Michael O’Mara
Is there not a way to use the shelter for both train and bus?
That is wonderful news for both the return of rail services and the associated shelter. What about the poor people waiting on a lonely bench (out in the elements), for the Northlander bus? Very sad situation for Huntsville. No wonder they want to leave.