Psst. Have you heard the latest news about the Northlander? The Government of Ontario says it’s bringing it back in 2026.

No gimmicks. No more of the same old song and dance.

Sometime this year, Ontario Northland will reinstate passenger rail service between Timmins and Toronto.

The return of this train has been one of Premier Doug Ford’s longstanding promises to voters in the northeast region.

During his party’s first two terms in office, Metrolinx and Ontario Northland produced business case reports, carried out trial runs along the proposed route, and completed various track improvements.

The province also broke ground on the Timmins-Porcupine Station, and began constructing platforms and waiting facilities between Matheson and Muskoka.

At the beginning of January, plenty of politicians lined up to be photographed in front of the first of three new yellow and blue trainsets, delivered recently by the manufacturer.

I should be excited. Instead, I’m nervous.

While some may see this as a milestone moment, legitimate concerns have been raised about the ease of use and dependability of the new service, the trainsets themselves, the selection process of which communities would host stations, and the overall governance of provincially funded public transportation in Northern Ontario.

In an email from the Ministry of Transportation, a spokesperson claims that «Ontario Northland’s strong partnership with CN has helped […] develop a train schedule that will deliver reliable and consistent service for the return of the Northlander». 

How exactly?

The Canadian, an existing passenger train operated by VIA Rail, is routinely late along the same stretch of track the Northlander intends to use between Toronto and Washago.

A week before Christmas, it took VIA’s flagship train an embarrassing four hours to traverse a distance Ontario Northland expects to take slightly less than two.

Scheduled Travel Times between Toronto and Washago¹

2009	Ontario Northland	VIA Rail
Northbound	1 hour, 45 minutes	2 hours, 40 minutes
Southbound	2 hours, 45 minutes	2 hours, 25 minutes

2026	Ontario Northland (proposed)	VIA Rail
Northbound	1 hour, 50 minutes	2 hours, 30 minutes
Southbound	1 hour, 50 minutes	4 hours, 29 minutes

1. Sources : Ontario Northland & VIA Rail Canada ↩︎

Has the government made any progress on a new passing track (near the village of Zephyr) to ensure passenger and freight train meets are brief and seamless, as originally proposed in the Updated Initial Business Case?

The MTO says the Northlander «will not be subject to speed restrictions» by CN thanks to some specialized equipment that «improves the train’s electrical interaction with the track circuits».

It’s a positive development, but ultimately meaningless if the trains themselves regularly fail during the winter. VIA Rail is allegedly using older locomotives to ensure their new equipment continues operating in cold temperatures, at least on a temporary basis.

Despite repeated appeals from residents and local leaders, the communities of Beaverton, Cobalt and Iroquois Falls — all located along the rail lines in question —  will not have train stops without so much as an explanation from the province.

Instead, Ontario Northland is revising its «bus schedules and working with partners to explore the integration of local transportation options at Northlander stops».

In theory, this should allow passengers to make last-mile connections — particularly in nearby cities and towns situated some distance from the railway.

In practice though, how is this supposed to work in communities that don’t operate local public transit during the middle of the night?

There’s also the issue of what the separate rail connection to Cochrane will look like.

Finally comes the 64,000 $ question: What mechanisms are in place to prevent new attempts at divestment of Ontario Northland’s assets?

Both the Progressive Conservatives and the Liberals came within a hair of liquidating this century-old, publicly-owned corporation in 2001, and again in 2012.

Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria stressed in an interview that the «Northlander will be around forever» and that it should have never been cancelled.

The province intends to fund passenger rail on the profits of Ontario Northland’s freight division.

However in the era of American tariffs imposed by Donald Trump on Canadian businesses, is this a viable plan? Does the Northlander’s existence depend solely whether or not the company can generate enough shipments of raw materials?

Restoring rail service in the North is going to be a true test of the government’s abilities to properly complete major transportation projects.

The mistakes made on the now cancelled London GO Train pilot, and delayed Eglinton Crosstown and Finch West light rail transit projects in Toronto sure leave a lot to be desired.

Convenient, comfortable, reliable and affordable train service is what travelers ultimately want.

As the playwright Clare Boothe Luce once said: The height of sophistication is simplicity.