Name : Sandy McLennan
Experience : I experienced this: “VIA’s apathy for Northern Ontario runs so deep that officials said Longlac Station was “no longer required” and “passengers will have to wait outside” even though the Canadian is often very late.” As part of my film project taking regional trains in Canada and getting between them in public transit (in the editing stage now) I did an up-and-back Port Sydney to Longlac. It was cold waiting outside for the train in Longlac! I got to the tracks on time for the “live tracking” schedule (about 4 hours late) and then the app updated its prediction an extra hour late. I know the importance of a shelter (and heat and a toilet). Huntsville, with none of these for the bus, is a case in point.
Name : Josee
Experience : I’ve only moved to Northeastern Ontario in 2016 and the lack of public transportation has made it near impossible for family and friends to visit. Some live in Ottawa/Montreal, some friends are abroad. When they tell me they’re coming to visit me, they are stunned that there aren’t many options to get here. The bus takes forever because of the stops and the transfers, the train is non existant, the plane is pricy, and so they are left with the option of renting a car to come visit. People in Northern Ontario have gotten use to the idea of owning a personal vehicle to get around, but many people in the cities, and especially people living abroad, do not always a personal vehicle they can use to get here. I wonder how many potential tourists cancel their plans of coming to Northern Ontario because of the transportation issue? For ourselves, we would love to take the train from our area to get to major airports (Montreal, Ottawa or Toronto).
Name : Michael McCallum
Comment : I have a hip disability and always found the train to be a much more comfortable and enjoyable trip. I would use it again as I do not drive anymore and make several trips to Toronto per year from Kirkland Lake. Good Luck with this!!
Name : Lorraine Lafrance
Comment : I used to take the train to Swastika all the time. Really miss it a lot.
Name : Margaret Perrault
Experience : Used to take the train regularly to visit relatives in Hamilton. Arriving in Toronto, went to the lower floor, walked across the street and got a bus that took me to my final destination. That go bus was convenient, but one hour on it was sufficient. Like many people who have had a knee replacement, sitting for long periods of time is not good, and the train always afforded the opportunity to get up and walk a bit. There is no comparison between bus and train travel. We northern Senior’s deserve better………
Name : Lee Bryan
Experience : As a non driver who moved to Port Carling from Toronto in 2005, I unhappily endured the uncomfortable 3+ hr bus ride back home for visits for several years. I restricted my frequency of trips solely because I detested the bus ride. In 2009, someone finally mentioned that there was rail travel available from Bracebridge, & I was thrilled to try that option. After my first trip to Toronto, I was ECSTATIC, & raved about the service to everyone I know! The entire trip was exactly 2 hours, which is the same or better than driving in a car! Even with occasionally delays on the tracks, not one single trip ever took longer than 2.5 hrs. Additionally, the leg room, ease of movement around & between cars…all phenomenal. To top it off, the conductors & other staff were ALL friendly & helpful, in stark contrast to the mostly miserable, nasty bus drivers. From 2010 onward, my trips to Toronto became much more frequent, at least 8/yr, solely because it was so painless on the train. On the bus, I refused to go more than 3x/yr, & guess what? That’s what I’m back to now. The bus is horrible, & compared to the previous rail travel, completely unacceptable. The biggest problem I experienced with the train service is that it took four years to hear about it!
Name : Marilee Koenderink
Experience : My story may not be unique as I frequently used Via Rail. I used it to go back and forth to London Ontario to school to get my B.ScN at Western. I used it afterward to go back and forward to Toronto to get my M.Ed. I travelled after that for work related meetings..until I could not as it was not available. Then I used a personal vehicle and contributed to global warming. Our adult children cannot come home by train – they use personal vehicles or fly and we pick them up from Toronto or Sudbury or North Bay. They have travelled in the last few years from Sault Ste Marie, Sudbury and Thunder Bay – we sure could have used the train. Please consider the benefits of public transit and draft a sound business plan to see if “Via” can come back to our area.
Name : Tony Turrittin
Comment : We’ve always wanted to take the Polar Bear Express to Moosonee as a holiday. Our plan was to take the Northlander to Cochrane, stay overnight and continue by train to James Bay. It was on our backpack list of destinations to experience. As seniors taking long drives is difficult for us. So when the Northlander was cancelled that’s pulled the shade down on this trip to northern Ontario for us.
Name : Rhona
Experience : We used to take the train to go to Sick children’s hospital twice a year and our kids used the train to go to university and college. Now, as adults, they all live in Southern Ontario and having the Ontario Northlander Train running again, would be Wonderful!! The drive down south to Toronto and London in the winter can be brutal with snow storms and winter conditions and poor roads conditions and snowplow not plowing the highways properly. Having the option of taking the TRAIN would be fantastic. Also, being a one car family is tricky so having the train would be very helpful!
Name : David Brydges
Experience : I took my first train trip when i was eleven from Cobalt to Toronto on the Northlander. It was a magical journey through the heart of the Cambrian Shield wilderness that inspired a life long love of train travel. Over the years i took hundreds of trips either from the north or coming from the south. When the Northlander was cancelled in 2012 my heart was broken and still feels fractured. Forced to take the bus it is not the same scenic or reflective trip. I am a tall person and find some buses have little leg room. The last bus I took, the handle had broken on the back seat adjustment. That problem is solved with the trains wider seats, the ability to get up and stretch your legs, do some socializing, or have a snack.
Name : Shawn Poirier
Comment : No train means more vehicles on the roads. I see a lot of accidents and deaths. I also often cross the ONTC bus on Quebec side running late. Feel sad for the passengers that are stuck in there seats for a longer ride. We need the passenger mixed with safe freight to remove vehicles and truck loads off HWY 11. This HWY is a commercial route to get from one side of Canada to the other. I would like to see the train go by my house again. Transportation is part of our life. And needs to be invested in not shut down.
Name : Jim McCuaig
Experience : This past month alone, I have travelled to Toronto for medical consultations, scanning, with another consultation coming up on February 12th. …. With those results, a plan of action needs to be determined with even more travels to Toronto. With our snowy roads, due to weather conditions, it recently took exactly 5 hours to reach the hospital counter from my doorstep here in Bracebridge. Now I drive to Barrie to catch the GO Train there. At least I don’t need to park in T.O. Costs? No comparison. Bus $88.00, Car/Train $20/$15 for a total of $35.00 for travel from Bracebridge to Toronto return. We need better, more reliable transport, such as a full rail service, like the GTA has from Oshawa through to Hamilton, and north to Barrie.
Name : André Simard
Comment : I’m a senior citizen worked for the ONR for 37 years. We negotiated a raise as part of getting free passes. Now they took that away from us. The South gets everything and the North is left out in the pasture. It’s not right. About the Northlander, I don’t think they should’ve ever cancelled it. I heard a man in a wheelchair leaves Cochrane and goes to Toronto by bus. That trip must be gruesome alone. Another man used to visit in North Bay from Englehart by train. He hates the bus trips and so do I.
Name : Bruno Cuksts
Experience : 7 + years ago when I was still living in North Bay, train travel to and from Toronto was essential for me so that I could keep appointments with doctors in Toronto and other cities in southern Ontario. I did not have a car, so I had to rely on the train for transportation outside of North Bay. I can’t imagine what it would be like for me if I were still living in North Bay and still having to travel south on a regular basis to see doctors.
I understand that there is bus service available, but I have always found bus travel to be very uncomfortable. I think most people travelling to Toronto fort medical reasons would make the same comment. I would urge the government to provide enough funding to provide funding for train service again.
Name : Jim Kennedy
Comment : You can never say for sure that you can make an appointment. In the winter it has become a joke that if it’s snowing the highway will be closed due to accidents. I feel cut off from being able to visit family or make a plane connection. It feels like the North just doesn’t matter. Ontario just doesn’t go from east to west!
Name : Lisa Fenton
Comment : The Northlander Train is an extremely important means of travel in Ontario. Our family used it often in travelling to our summer place in Muskoka. What a beautiful way to avoid the horrific drive and traffic that is only getting worse. Our children took the train….and our aging parents. Both groups that aren’t able to drive.
Name : Francis Ritchie
Comment : This section of highway (11) has been a focal point for many years with the lack of winter maintenance and the number of fatalities . With the fatalities that occur on this highway the most recent was yesterday Dec 8, 2017. We the people of the Northeast have asked for this highway to become four lanes and the return of the Northlander Passenger Train due to the loss of life and the greater number of transports that travel this section of Hwy 11. The Northern Ontario Multimodal Transportation Strategy Draft 2041 (Goal 1, Section 1.7, Figure #4) is recommending that this highway to be used as a oversize and overweight route to help accommodate transports to their destination across Canada. With this recommendation will the Minister of Transportation consider making this highway four lanes to help accommodate the Northern Ontario Multimodal Transportation Strategy recommendation. We in the Northeast have had our Northlander Passenger train removed from this area and ONTC Bus Stations closed and Routes changed eliminating towns that were accomidated by the Northland. With the lack of additional modes of transportation to the Northeast many residents have to depend on vehicle transportation to get to Schools, Doctors, Hospitals and Family. I am pleading with this government to take a better look at this area of Ontario and give use the some respect as you do for the South. I have been e-mailing and writing letters to this government for the last 2 years for the return of the Northlander Passenger Train but with no positive response and now their is another life that has been lost and this government is still not providing the service that we need. Will the Government of Ontario, Minister of Transportation, and the Minister of Northern Development Mine and Forestry look at this area of Ontario as a prosperous and growing region that needs better modes of transportation (passenger train, four lane highway and better bus service).
Name : Mark Winter
Comment : I used to regularly take the train to Huntsville to go to a friends cottage on an island in Lake Vernon. I would scramble down the hill from the train station and he would pick me up by boat. Now unfortunately I have to take my car. The train ride was beautiful as it went through the woods and you could even see moose in ponds. I would love to start taking it again on a regular basis and avoid adding to the car pollution on the highway.
Name : Carole Chenard
Comment : I find it shameful that ANYONE could so easily isolate our whole Northern community from the rest of the province by removing a rail service that was already fully operational and in use. Wake up people! We have so much potential in the northern community. .our college and university would attract more students if rail transport were available to them. There is talk about a new casino. How many people would come from away if a train were available? With the rising population of seniors, rail service would make specialised medical care in Toronto easier to access. Finally, from the views of someone who travels the horrible stretch of road from Barrie and onward to the north, how many more people have to die before someone realises we need to give people a safer way to get through these areas. With more and more product being moved to a growing community by truck, wouldn’t be a no brainer that rail transport would be a safer, cleaner way to get these goods delivered? Yes, a bigger, safer highway is needed, but, we need something NOW. Imagine the accidents that will happen during the years of construction if a new highway does come. Drivers fly past at 20km over in construction sites as it is..imagine the nightmare yet to come. We’ll need an alternative way to get past the mess. I say re-open what is already there. Hire people to repair and make safe what we already have in place..a safer way to allow non drivers, students, seniors, tourists and business people reach their destination.
Name : Martha Heidenheim
Experience : I live in Hearst and recently retired. Winter driving has become more difficult in the north, the highways are not as well cared for as they were in the past and yes, I am aging. I have a son in Thunder Bay and friends & family in Southern Ontario. I was looking forward to making use of public transportation during the winter to visit them. Three years ago I used the bus service to meet up with friends in Barrie and travel to Camp Wanakita in Haliburton for a weekend. What a nightmare! The service was sub-standard, slow, terrible hours for connections. I have crossed that adventure off my list. When my kids were young I used to take the overnight train from Kapuskasing and we would travel in comfort to London! Imagine! Those days are long gone. I feel isolated an trapped without the choice of public transport in the winter.
Name : Arlene Johnston
Experience : I am a senior experiencing health issues, which makes it impossible for me to drive all the way to Englehart to see my son and his family. The Northlander would make it possible for me to visit whenever I wish. Even when I could drive, my son did not want me driving up in inclement weather which was almost half the year. Please bring back the Northlander train.
Name : Russell Nicholls
Experience : I’d like to advise just how the lack of having railway passenger service affects me personally! I am ninety years old, and lost my lovely wife of sixty five years about 6 months ago. I miss her dearly. I have three daughters, of which two reside here in Huntsville. My third daughter resides in New Liskeard, and would like me to come up to New Lisheard to spend some week-ends with her. Here’s where the bus situation becomes a problem. It takes me to North Bay, but I have to wait in North Bay for a considerable length of time before I can get another bus on through to New Liskeard. The alternative would be for my daughter/son-in-law to drive down to North Bay to pick me up at the station. If the Ontario Government / Federal Government had any concern for us here in North Eastern Ontario they’d have a through train running from Toronto, to at least, Cochrane. This is very frustrating for me, and it appears that the only way to correct the situation will be in the ballot box.
Name : Lidia Mattucci-Jacobsen
Comment : I live in Huntsville. My husband and I as well as our entire family have used the train regularly for decades commuting to Toronto. We are now approaching retirement and ourselves and large number of our neighbours feel irate that there isn’t a train to Huntsville. This service is extremely important especially as we have a growing population moving north to retire.
Name : Shirley Gilson
Experience : I used to have take the Northlander regularly for visits to Sick Children’s Hospital and the Hugh Mcmillan Center for Disabled children. As my child grew and his seat inserts got larger, it was harder to lift them. The staff on the Northlander train were very helpful to us and made sure that he was comfortable. We would travel in an enclosed in cabin where my son could lay on the bench seat and I could rest on the other one. It also gave us privacy as he had to have his diaper changed and he was being fed by stomach tube during the last few years. A server would come to the cabin to see if we wanted to order a sandwich or anything and if I had to use the washroom, she would stay with my son until I got back. This sure relieved a lot of the stress that travelling with disabled children involves. My son passed away in his 18th year so I was spared having to figure out how to get to Toronto without the Northlander. I truly feel sorry for those who have to make that trip in another way. Please bring back the Northlander so the truly vulnerable have a way of travelling back and forth to medical facilities that we are not privy to up here in Northern Ontario. We have an aging population with many medical issues and families with handicapped children who need the space it offers for comfort and peace of mind. This is a huge issue for us in the North (the forgotten people).
Name : Mary
Experience : My inlaws lived in a town about 2 hours away. My father in law was having medical issues, while my mother in law was advancing in dementia & unable to care for herself, very dependent and demanding on my father in law. Because of my own medical linitations, I was unable to drive down & back in order to help support both of them. If the train had still been running, I would have taken the train down and back: The bus is hard for me to tolerate as you don’t have the ability to get up and move around to stretch your legs and body, increasing pain & stiffness. It would have been good for my mother in law to have another familiar face around to talk to and spend time with. My father in law could have gotten a break from the stress & gotten the rest he needed to take better care of himself … AND there would have been moral support for both of them as they were both struggling with the unwanted changes that they were facing. My mother in law needed to be placed in a nursing home, but was on the waiting list for almost 5 months. It caused me much grief, frustration & sadness that when they were in need of more support & help, I could only give it over the phone instead of being there in person, where I could also have made healthy meals for them, kept up with laundry and basic housekeeping and been much more help in a practical sense. My father in law continued to have more medical issues and died less than a year later! It’s especially frustrating when I see our tax dollars going to provide transit services in the GTA, while northern Ontario had its train canceled, and bus stations closed with fewer buses running, despite gov’t promises to improve northern transportation plan!
Name : B.M.
Experience : I have had extensive ortho surgery in Toronto. I used to be able to travel to Toronto via bus for appointments and return by train.. Since it was cancelled I now must wait for return bus at 7:45 pm which means I do not get home till 1 am very long tiring day for anyone let alone this senior . Have had two hips and two knees replaced! Driving is out of the question traffic has become too busy.
Name : Heather Smithers
Experience : I live in North Bay and unfortunately am unable to obtain a drivers license due to medical reasons. Having both MS and Epilepsy presents enough challenges without having to stress about dr. Appts. Bus trips are not possible at times due to pain and mobility issues as I use a wheelchair. My MS clinic is in Ottawa and my Epilepsy clinic is in London Ontario. Trying to maintain my independence and not having to constantly rely on others has become impossible with the cancellation of our passenger rail service. At this point I am exploring options of moving from a city I love because of this.
Name : Kerry Desilets
Experience : When I was in university in Waterloo, I would take the Via Rail to Toronto and the ONR all the way home to Kapuskasing. It was a great service! It wasn’t seriously expensive, safer than driving, and MUCH more comfortable than the bus! I was extremely disappointed when the service was cancelled even though I was now living back in Kap and no longer relied on the train. This past year, I missed a funeral in Toronto for someone very special to me because we no longer have the train. My daughter was two months at the time, she wasn’t sleeping longer than a couple of hours and I was looking at a 12 hour drive by myself. I wasn’t comfortable taking my brand new infant on the bus and I was never going to be able to drive down myself. If the train had been an option, I could have gone to the funeral. It would also allow my in laws a safe way to travel at Christmas every year. They come from Brampton for a week in December when the roads are bad and we worry every year. The train would alleviate our fears.
Name : Matti Ellis
Comment : I live up in Matheson and I must say, we have a large Mennonite population here in the north and surrounding communities. Mennonite especially line up to take the bus and I would surely imagine they would take the train if they could considering the connections available at union station for southwestern Ontario destinations in which they have family residing. I hope this group can bring these important facts to the leaders on the ONTC to reestablish the Northlander.
Name : Judy Jones
Experience : I have a daughter who lives up north just outside of Hearst. It’s been very difficult for her at times with travelling back and forth to see family as she had our first grandchild and would love to come visit more often but as winter sets in this will be very difficult as a few times when the have come home during the winter months they have been stuck out there with road closures due to bad weather as well as accidents in which could of been avoided if the train was still running to Cochrane. I feel that taking away train services and now less bus service is putting our families at risk!
Name : Mike Thompson
Comment : I live in Deep River, Ontario. My daughter is in Toronto and doesn’t drive. When she visits, I have to drive to Smiths Falls to pick her up from the train, about a 2.5 hour drive. Conversely, it is only 1.5 hours to North Bay, where the Northlander train used to have a stop. So, every trip is two hours more driving for me, four hours less time spent visiting per visit. We would definitely make use of the Northlander train were it to start up again! Busing is not an option, as there are too many stops and it takes even more time away from our visit.
Name : Linda Thomas-Ouellette
Experience : I used to go to Toronto on the train to visit my grandchildren. I am 68 and find the drive taxing. However during the ride I would work on my genealogy to share with them.
Name : Lynn Taylor
Experience : The cancellation is affecting a countless number of lives, because I can’t be the only one whose life was positively affected by the Northlander. My parents separated when I was young. My mother, single with two young kids, tried to find work in North Bay after the separation, but there were no jobs for her. Feeling forced to move to where work could be found, we moved towards Toronto. Because of work schedules and drive time, my brother and I were sent for visitations to see our dad by travelling on the Northlander. If the Northlander was not in service, I don’t believe we would have visited him as much, if at all. My brother and I have fond memories of these trips, and are grateful to have experienced travelling by rail. All. of the crew was exceptional, and I’ve never received service like that since. Porter has bailed on North Bay, but our city, along with all of the small northern communities,, need that connection whether it’s for work, medical reasons, or simply to stay maintain a social connection with those in the South. Please bring back our Northlander.
Name : Sylvie Wilson
Comment : Hello, I’m just expressing the way I feel about the Northlander train’s cancellation in Northern Ontario. I worked on the Northlander train for almost 20 years and loved it, I really got to know how important it is for all Northern Ontario citizens as they shared their stories on how devastated they were when it was dismantled without any consultation. We need this service to come back, the inclement weather we experience and since most health specialists are in southern cities, ex; Toronto etc. Students enjoyed travelling the train during holidays, it also provides wheelchair lifts for the handicaps, bar and food services, internet outlets for business people, The scenery is breathtaking in all seasons and enjoyed by the tourists. Together we can bring our Northlander back on track, the railway is what actually built our northern communities.
Name : Graeme Mackechnie
Experience : By putting so much more truck traffic on the roads it has made it a dangerous ordeal to drive on the northern highways. More trucks on the roads leads to more air pollution as well as litter. Toronto was the headwaters of our paediatric care,it was so easy,so convenient and so economical to get on a train at 8 and be in Toronto that evening at 6,all the while being able to attend to your child. The freedom from stress associated with the long drive to Toronto was alleviated by the train. The train was a boon to tourism. The train opened the north to foreign visitors,travelers who were here without vehicles
Name : Bobbie Livingstone
Experience : My friend would travel down to visit her mother who lived in Toronto. Travel on the train was so comfortable. I would go with her and we would stay in Toronto for three or four days and take in a show and do some shopping. One time coming back there was a problem with the train so they transferred us to the bus. The bus was very uncomfortable and we couldn’t get up and move around – when it came time to leave the bus we were so achy and our muscles had cramped up. Now that I use a walker and my husband uses a wheelchair, we can’t think about trying to travel south to see relatives – it just would be so painful to travel by bus. We should be allowed equal rights and equal access to travel as people in Southern Ontario – taking our train away turned us into second (or third) class citizens.
