Mayor Doug Craig confident that GO trains will come to Cambridge
Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig said meetings between regional representatives and Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca made a good case for bringing GO train service to the city. Craig expects to hear a public announcement later this fall about next steps.
Craig was joined by representatives from Halton Region and Gordon Krantz, the mayor of Milton, as well as Regional Chair Ken Seiling and Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic to ask the province to extend the Milton GO rail line into Cambridge.
Although he's personally optimistic about the project, Craig said that Del Duca voiced concern about managing the public's expectations over what would happen and when.
"I'm not going to say on your show today we're going to have trains in the fall. What I am going to say is we're all working towards having GO trains to Cambridge, and now it's in the hands of Ministry," he said in an interview with Craig Norris on The Morning Edition Wednesday.
Craig says he thinks the next steps will be statement from the minister in the fall giving a timetable for expansion of GO service.
"I"m quite convinced it's going to go forward, it's a matter of how do they manage to make it work. It's not easy to deal with CP Rail as an example to get the rights to run trains, things like that. Where are the stations going to be in Cambridge?" he said.
Craig's next step is to join with Mississauga, Milton and Toronto to pitch the case of what they're calling "The Missing Link." The proposed rail bypass would connect the Milton GO line west of Trafalgar Road with the CN Bramalea bypass line in Brampton. It would shuttle heavy freight traffic off a section of track that would allow two-way, all-day GO service to both Milton and Kitchener, according to a release from the city of Mississauga.
"I think the 401 going through Cambridge, coming to Cambridge is becoming a parking lot most days of the week," said Craig. "We want to get people off the 401, we want to give them a safe, better way of transportation to the GTA area and Union Station and we understand people coming into Waterloo Region want a safe, convenient way of getting here."