MP planning new rail bill for Parliament
Published: May 29th 2010
Source: The Chronicle Journal

A group of rail-friendly MPs from various political parties could buttress the case for restoring or enhancing passenger service along Lake Superior and other Northern routes simply by hitching a ride, says MP Bruce Hyer.

Hyer said he‘s hoping such a trip on either CN Rail or CPR lines will take place on one of Via Rail‘s Budd cars – a self-propelled coach like the one currently running between White River and Sudbury.

“I‘d like to see this happen some time this summer,” Hyer (NDP – Thunder Bay-Superior North) said Thursday.

A Budd car can carry large-scale freight like canoes, plus about 60 passengers – about the same amount as a Greyhound bus.

Some see enhancing Via Rail service in remote parts of the country as an alternative to governments subsidizing Greyhound‘s money-losing Northern service, whose coaches often carry less than 10 passengers in Northwestern Ontario.

Currently, Via has only two Budd cars in service: the one that travels the White River-Sudbury route, and another one on Vancouver Island.

There are no plans to add any Budd cars, a Via Rail spokeswoman said.

Hyer, who tried unsuccessfully to get a motion through Parliament in favour of restoring passenger service to areas that lost it, said he plans to reintroduce a similar bill this year.

In the short term, said Hyer, putting a Budd car on CN‘s northern line through towns like Hornepayne and Armstrong would help First Nation residents and remote tourist operators.

The Budd car that travels daily between White River and Sudbury runs year-round.

Tourists heading for remote lodges, or blood samples heading to health clinics in Sudbury, all go on the Budd car.

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