Kingston Councillors Push for High-Speed Rail Stop

Officials in Kingston, Ont., have expressed their backing for high-speed rail, but only if two specific conditions are met – that it travels along Highway 401 and makes a stop close to the city.

If these conditions aren’t fulfilled, there will be no “value or benefit” for the area, and the council will oppose it, as outlined in a motion presented by Mayor Bryan Paterson.

Councillors voted 9-2 in support of these requirements on Tuesday evening after hearing from representatives of Alto, the Crown corporation overseeing the project.

“The case is absolutely, in my view, a slam dunk to add one more stop in Kingston,” Paterson remarked, labeling the condition as “non-negotiable.”

Other councils nearby haven’t been as supportive.

Both Stone Mills and South Frontenac voted unanimously against the proposed southern route through their areas, with South Frontenac stressing there’s “no point” unless the train stops in Kingston.

MP says project ‘should be killed’

Rural leaders and residents have raised worries about land expropriation, effects on local roads and potential damage to environmentally sensitive regions and wildlife.

“I am opposed to Alto. I think this terrible project should be killed,” said Lanark-Frontenac MP Scott Reid in a video shared on social media on Feb. 11, citing those concerns along with the project’s estimated budget of $60-90 billion.

On Tuesday, city councillors questioned why the southern route is being considered at all instead of sticking with the original northern one.

Alto staff replied that while they looked at a possible route around Highway 7, that section of the Canadian Shield posed “technical challenges.”

Why not Kingston?

Councillors also wondered why Peterborough has been included among the required seven stops while Kingston has not made the list.

“If we are bypassed, once the rail’s down we are going to have generations that suffer the economic impact of high-speed rail not coming to us,” Sydenham District’s Conny Glenn told Alto.

Pittsburgh District Coun. Ryan Boehme pointed out that there’s a lot of population density along the St. Lawrence River and mentioned that people have been “screaming for interconnectivity for years.”

“When Alto was created, the mandate was clear it was those seven cities,” responded Alto’s chief communications officer Pierre-Yves Boivin. “I’m afraid that’s all I can say at this point.”

Funding hasn’t been secured yet and it’s estimated construction of the railway, overpasses and fencing needed for protection would take at least 15 years.

City Hall in Kingston, Ont., pictured on Aug. 1, 2021. (John Last/CBC)

‘Winners and losers’

While Kingston’s mayor had asked council members to address this issue collectively, two members disagreed during Tuesday’s meeting.

Glenn stated she supports having high-speed rail along highways 401 and 416 but expressed concern about what might happen if things don’t go as planned for Kingston.

“Is this proposal going to include any iron-clad guarantees that we’re going to be properly served and not cause undue harm to our neighbouring communities?” she questioned.

“Rail infrastructure should connect communities,” she added. “It shouldn’t divide the corridor into winners and losers.”

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