Not everyone aboard proposed rail system

Kathleen Hunter
k.hunter@dal.ca

When Scott Hart came back to Halifax after a month-long work term in Edmonton, he quickly realized what his home city lacked.

“We need a commuter rail,” said the 30-year-old social worker and former community organizer.

“They have a light rail transit there and it’s lovely. We have a rail right here and I think we should use it.”

Hart, who grew up in British Columbia, moved to the Halifax area two years ago.

He wasn’t thrilled with the transit system, and after his experience in Edmonton he wrote letters to the editor about his support for building a commuter rail system in Halifax.

In May 2008 the city released a report explaining to residents why commuter rail was not a part of the Halifax Regional Municipality’s regional plan.

Using a chart that lists 143 of the largest metropolitan areas in Canada and the US, the report states  commuter rail is only viable for cities with a population of one million or more.

There are 88 cities without commuter rail listed between Edmonton, the smallest city with commuter rail, and Halifax.

However, Hart disagrees that this should be an issue, and he uses Edmonton as his example.

Edmonton started construction of its rail system in 1974 and completed it in 1978. Its population at the time was about 445,000, about 50,000 greater than the population of Halifax.

“I think it’s kind of hypocritical to say we don’t have the population to support it,” said Hart.

But Dave McCusker, the city’s manager of strategic transportation planning, said Edmonton had an advantage.

“Their system was built with provincial money in a province that at the time had more money than they even knew what to do with,” he said.

“We get zero dollars from our provincial government so as a starting point that puts us in a different position than cities like Vancouver and Edmonton.”

The report also focuses attention on the inconvenience of the Hollis Street VIA Rail station in relation to downtown office complexes, such as Scotia Square.

However, it doesn’t provide analysis for other stops along the track, which would run from Cobequid Road in Lower Sackville through Bedford and the south end of Halifax.

McCusker explained that the report’s focus was on downtown as the destination of the majority of passengers.

Halifax City Council’s recent talk of fast ferries and hovercraft as new transit options has led those who support commuter rail to search for other options.

“We haven’t done any specific research on the topic,” said Bobby O’Keefe, research manager for the Atlantic Institute of Market Studies.

“But there seems to be quite a few people that suggest that all the rails that are needed are already there.”

In fact, if the city built a heavy rail commuter transit system, the infrastructure costs would be minimal.

But the report released by council explains that though Halifax currently has rail lines, they are privately owned by the Canadian National Railway Co.

In order to use them for a commuter rail system, the city would have to rent the rails for what would presumably be a high fee.

“We haven’t discussed that in detail with CN but we know from previous discussions on other issues that there is a substantial cost to lease the lines,” said McCusker.

As for light rail transit, McCusker said it would cost about $300 to $400 million.

This is because light rail trains cannot run in the same corridor as heavy rail trains for safety reasons, as a light rail train could not withstand a crash with a heavy rail train.

While council is expected to ask city staff to study the cost of a commuter rail system into downtown, McCusker said there are currently no plans to implement a system.

“We’ll explain to them the rationale of why that wasn’t part of the regional plan.”