{"id":130366,"date":"2023-01-19T12:38:21","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T17:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/rwddev\/?p=130366"},"modified":"2023-01-19T21:16:23","modified_gmt":"2023-01-20T02:16:23","slug":"a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/","title":{"rendered":"Northlander train set order: A time to celebrate or remain vigilant? | Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By \u00c9ric Boutilier<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Government of Ontario may have finally taken its first real tangible step forward to make passenger rail service in the northeast a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Associate Minister of Transportation, Stan Cho, and his ministerial colleagues \u2014 Victor Fedeli (MPP for Nipissing), George Pirie (Timmins), and Graydon Smith (Parry Sound-Muskoka) \u2014 were among those who announced an investment of $139.5 million dollars<\/span><\/a> for the purchase of three new state-of-the-art train sets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next few years, these diesel locomotives and rail coaches will be manufactured by the Siemens Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are supposed to be environmentally friendly and equipped with spacious seating, storage areas on board, galley-style food services, built-in wheelchair lifts, accessible washrooms, audio-video passenger information systems, and yes, even Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is potentially significant because the experience is that there haven’t been that many passenger rail projects in Canada (outside of the big cities or the Qu\u00e9bec-Windsor corridor) which have moved past the phase of studying it endlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, credit where credit is due.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a positive step forward, and if the Ford government is sincere with its commitment to restoring the Northlander<\/span><\/a>, it could mean many more milestone announcements to come during their second term in office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qINxV4ceB0w\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Keeping things in perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Metrolinx and Ontario Northland still have a considerable amount of work to do before anyone can even think about lining up to purchase tickets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other things, the rolling stock needs to be climate tested. We don\u2019t want to find ourselves in a situation where the equipment just isn\u2019t suited for the North\u2019s frigid winter temperatures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A track usage agreement with CN Rail (south of North Bay) needs to be signed. Additional capacity on the Bala Subdivision (south of Washago) and an on-time performance clause wouldn’t hurt either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the station facilities either need to be rebuilt or touched up. Track upgrades may also be required in some areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the associate minister’s own words: This is an ambitious goal on timelines for having rail service restored<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might help explain why the goalposts seem to be perpetually moving. What initially was supposed to be no later than the end of the Ford government\u2019s first term in office, has shifted to 2024, 2025, and now late 2026 \u2026 potentially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also can’t help but notice there doesn’t seem to be a contingency plan \u2014 at least one that is publicly known \u2014 in the event of delays or disruptions in the supply chain. The Eglinton Crosstown<\/span><\/a> and Ottawa West<\/span><\/a> LRT (Light rail transit) projects have suffered from a number of setbacks and\/or cost overruns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If faced with the same difficulties, will the province once again postpone the reintroduction of the Northlander?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, does the government think it should be above public scrutiny?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Twice I’ve filed freedom of information requests for additional info on the province\u2019s northeastern passenger rail proposal, and twice now I\u2019ve been denied in full.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no question the public has an appetite for wanting to travel safely, comfortably, and reliably to and from their home communities. A decade without train service is long enough of a wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on how many times the politicians have stated they\u2019re bringing back the Northlander<\/em>, you\u2019d think it was a fait accompli<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it\u2019s a tad premature to begin celebrating its imminent return to service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re not out of the woods yet, and if the Toronto Maple Leafs hockey club has taught us anything during the last half-century, it\u2019s that you should never plan the parade until you\u2019ve crossed the finish line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c9ric Boutilier is the founder of Northern Tracks Blog<\/span><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

Don\u2019t miss out on Doppler!<\/h5>\n

Sign up here<\/u><\/a> to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
\nLocal news in your inbox so you don’t miss anything!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Click here to support local news<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/broadstreet-zone>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By \u00c9ric Boutilier The Government of Ontario may have finally taken its first real tangible step forward to make passenger rail service in the northeast a reality. The Associate Minister […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1904,"featured_media":130370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[42,3225],"class_list":["post-130366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","tag-lucille-frith","tag-northlander"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNorthlander train set order: A time to celebrate or remain vigilant? | Commentary - Huntsville Doppler<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Northlander train set order: A time to celebrate or remain vigilant? | Commentary - Huntsville Doppler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By \u00c9ric Boutilier The Government of Ontario may have finally taken its first real tangible step forward to make passenger rail service in the northeast a reality. The Associate Minister [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Huntsville Doppler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HuntsvilleDoppler\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-19T17:38:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-20T02:16:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2023\/01\/train-set.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"422\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Doppler Online\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Hville_Doppler\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Hville_Doppler\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Doppler Online\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Doppler Online\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#\/schema\/person\/3e6b0695dcb78273e5a4854699a12938\"},\"headline\":\"Northlander train set order: A time to celebrate or remain vigilant? | Commentary\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-19T17:38:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-20T02:16:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/\"},\"wordCount\":638,\"commentCount\":3,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2023\/01\/train-set.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Lucille Frith\",\"Northlander\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/\",\"name\":\"Northlander train set order: A time to celebrate or remain vigilant? | Commentary - Huntsville Doppler\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2023\/01\/train-set.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-19T17:38:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-20T02:16:23+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2023\/01\/train-set.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2023\/01\/train-set.png\",\"width\":730,\"height\":422,\"caption\":\"Rendering of train set.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Northlander train set order: A time to celebrate or remain vigilant? | Commentary\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/\",\"name\":\"Huntsville Doppler\",\"description\":\"Read Local\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Huntsville Doppler\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2025\/03\/logo-Canadian-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2025\/03\/logo-Canadian-1.jpg\",\"width\":760,\"height\":212,\"caption\":\"Huntsville Doppler\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HuntsvilleDoppler\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Hville_Doppler\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/huntsville_doppler\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#\/schema\/person\/3e6b0695dcb78273e5a4854699a12938\",\"name\":\"Doppler Online\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/author\/doppler-online\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Northlander train set order: A time to celebrate or remain vigilant? | Commentary - Huntsville Doppler","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Northlander train set order: A time to celebrate or remain vigilant? | Commentary - Huntsville Doppler","og_description":"By \u00c9ric Boutilier The Government of Ontario may have finally taken its first real tangible step forward to make passenger rail service in the northeast a reality. The Associate Minister [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/","og_site_name":"Huntsville Doppler","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HuntsvilleDoppler\/","article_published_time":"2023-01-19T17:38:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-01-20T02:16:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":730,"height":422,"url":"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2023\/01\/train-set.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Doppler Online","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Hville_Doppler","twitter_site":"@Hville_Doppler","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Doppler Online","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/"},"author":{"name":"Doppler Online","@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#\/schema\/person\/3e6b0695dcb78273e5a4854699a12938"},"headline":"Northlander train set order: A time to celebrate or remain vigilant? | Commentary","datePublished":"2023-01-19T17:38:21+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-20T02:16:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/"},"wordCount":638,"commentCount":3,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2023\/01\/train-set.png","keywords":["Lucille Frith","Northlander"],"articleSection":["Commentary"],"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/","url":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/","name":"Northlander train set order: A time to celebrate or remain vigilant? | Commentary - Huntsville Doppler","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2023\/01\/train-set.png","datePublished":"2023-01-19T17:38:21+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-20T02:16:23+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2023\/01\/train-set.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2023\/01\/train-set.png","width":730,"height":422,"caption":"Rendering of train set."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/a-time-to-celebrate-or-remain-vigilant\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Northlander train set order: A time to celebrate or remain vigilant? | Commentary"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#website","url":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/","name":"Huntsville Doppler","description":"Read Local","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#organization","name":"Huntsville Doppler","url":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2025\/03\/logo-Canadian-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/media-doppleronline-ca.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com\/2025\/03\/logo-Canadian-1.jpg","width":760,"height":212,"caption":"Huntsville Doppler"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HuntsvilleDoppler\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Hville_Doppler","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/huntsville_doppler\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/#\/schema\/person\/3e6b0695dcb78273e5a4854699a12938","name":"Doppler Online","url":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/author\/doppler-online\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1904"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}