Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance

Our Mission is to connect community groups, government stakeholders, and businesses working towards the integration and enhancement of rail, bus, and local transit services across Southwestern Ontario

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Power of Rail Symposium – October 12th

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Talbot College, Western University

WHO: Irene Mathyssen MP (London–Fanshawe, NDP), Terry Johnson (President, SWOTA), Western students, faculty and the general public

WHAT: One-hour public symposium with presentations and time for Q&A

WHEN: Wednesday, October 12, 2016, 1pm-2pm

WHERE: Talbot College, Room 101, Western University – Get Directions

The Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance (SWOTA) and Irene Mathyssen, MP (London–Fanshawe, NDP) are being welcomed by Western University on October 12, 2016 for a symposium on the fight for better passenger rail service.

Western students and faculty travel all the time. They deserve affordable, efficient, and sustainable ways to get to Toronto, to Waterloo, to Windsor and to Ottawa. Why drive congested, dangerous highways and pollute our environment?

SWOTA works with Transport Action Ontario to connect community groups, government stakeholders and businesses, and advocates for better travel options across our region. With climate change on everyone’s mind, and transportation causing a huge percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, smart solutions are needed. And the smartest solution of all is the network we already have: passenger rail.

The event will focus on High-Speed Rail options, the huge expansion of GO Transit in Toronto and VIA Rail’s struggle to survive with inadequate funding. Other topics will include SWOTA’s well-documented solution: Network Southwest and the upcoming reintroduction of the NDP’s proposed VIA Rail Canada Act.

Students value mobility and know that Canada’s public transport system isn’t up to the task of supporting the social and economic opportunities they want. THE POWER OF RAIL Symposium will give students a voice, and enable them to get involved in the discussions that will directly impact their futures.

London: Future Hub – Public Forum

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Network Southwest Public Forum

A practical plan for an affordable
and convenient public transport
network for Southwestern Ontario

A public forum to present Network Southwest, our action plan for rapid solutions to our region’s transportation challenges and need for car-free mobility, will be held at Fanshawe College in London.

Wednesday March 23, 2016
4.00 p.m. – 5.00 p.m.

Lecture Theatre D1041
Fanshawe College

Open to all – Free admission

Map - Fanshawe College

 

Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance
Transport Action Canada

VIA Rail improves connections to Kitchener, Stratford, and St. Marys

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IMG_20151202_084114_hdrVIA Rail has responded to a common request at SWOTA public meetings across the region by restoring the connection at London between the two early morning trains to Toronto via Brantford and via Kitchener-Waterloo.

Passengers from Windsor and Chatham can once again reach St. Marys, Stratford, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Guelph before 10 am, making same-day round trips possible. This connection had been lost following federal budget cuts in 2012.

Using both station platforms at London to provide convenient connections increases the number of possible city pairs for passengers at minimal cost, and is an important step in implementing VIA Rail’s ‎vision of London as a hub for Southwestern Ontario, a vision shared in our Network Southwest plan for a fully integrated, easy to use, public transport network.

This will be a boost to regional tourism, and a boon for students at the three universities, as well as providing a vital alternative to driving on the 401 and into Kitchener at rush hour for business trips.

The schedule change also preserves the connection ‎for Sarnia passengers to the Windsor-Toronto train that provides an earlier arrival time in Toronto, one of the first moves VIA Rail made to enhance services in response to suggestions from local passenger advocacy groups.

Recent schedule adjustments to improve connections through Toronto also allow passengers from Southwestern Ontario to reach Ottawa and Montreal up to 90 minutes earlier.

VIA Rail Promises More Trains for London

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VIA6404_20141204_LondonThe Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance, meeting in London on Thursday May 7, 2015, welcomed the promise of seven daily trains between London and Toronto by January 2016.

Speaking to the London Chamber of Commerce on April 28, VIA Rail President and CEO Yves Desjardins-Siciliano outlined plans to reroute the Sarnia-Toronto service through Brantford and to add an afternoon train in each direction between London and Toronto.

“Our vision for Southwestern Ontario is of an integrated transportation system with London as a hub, and we’re encouraged to find that VIA’s leadership is articulating a similar vision of a high performance network with reliable and frequent service,” said Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance President Terry Johnson.

“These promised additional services are a first step in the right direction, but on their own are not enough to reverse the damage done to our regional economy by past cuts to rail service and by lost intercity bus routes. We must keep up the pressure to ensure that the federal government invests in the resources VIA needs to execute this high performance strategy, and to replace 60-year-old equipment with modern, fully accessible trains.”

SWOTA’s Network Southwest public transportation action plan, presented to both provincial and federal politicians this spring, calls for seven daily trains on the London-Brantford-Toronto route, which would run through to Sarnia and Windsor as part of a package of measures that also includes connecting bus services to communities not on the rail network to restore vital public transport links between Southwestern Ontario communities.

Federal cuts to VIA Rail in 2011 led to a sharp reduction in services throughout the region, with Sarnia, St. Marys, Stratford, and Niagara Falls amongst the hardest hit.

Desjardins-Siciliano cited the need for better communication between the provincial federal governments as the main reason for the lack of good news regarding services to St. Marys and Stratford, while confirming that a multi-million dollar infrastructure investment to prepare the route for enhanced services will be completed this summer.

“For those communities to thrive, and to get the best value for the tax dollars already invested in infrastructure, we’ve got to get everyone to the table and find a way to bring those services back,” added Johnson.

Network Southwest – London Public Forum

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Network Southwest Public Forum

A practical plan for affordable and convenient public transportation in Southwestern Ontario

London will host a public forum to present Network Southwest, an action plan for rapid solutions to our region’s transportation challenges.

With transportation analyst and government policy advisor:
Greg Gormick
President, On Track Strategies
Introduction by Phil Squire, London City Councillor, Ward 6

Wednesday April 8, 2015
5.00 p.m. – 7.00 p.m.

Wolf Performance Hall
London Public Library
251 Dundas Street, London, ON N6A 6H9
London Public Library is an accessible venue.

London Network Southwest Public Forum Poster
Download Poster

Southwestern Ontario Transportation Alliance
Transport Action Canada