MP Gerretsen demands Kingston stop on proposed high-speed rail line

Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen has launched a public campaign to have the city included in the proposed Alto high-speed rail network.

In a video statement filmed in front of the city’s historic downtown train station, Gerretsen criticized the current proposal for the Quebec-Ontario rail corridor, which he says bypasses the region entirely.

2:08 Rural residents speak out against high speed rail

“Alto is currently developing a high-speed rail network between Quebec and Ontario. And they have seven stops,” Gerretsen said. “Right now, there’s four stops in Quebec and three in Ontario.”

The MP called the exclusion of a local stop “wrong” and is urging both the developer and the federal minister of transportation to redraw the route.

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“We need another stop, a fourth stop in Ontario, one that stops near Kingston,” he said.

Gerretsen argued that bypassing Kingston ignores a major hub for rail travel. He noted that the city’s current VIA Rail station is among the busiest in the country due to its central location between Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto.

“It’s critically important for us in Kingston because we are a community that travels by train,” he added.

Gerretsen is asking residents to write to the minister of transportation and Alto to demand the plans be reconsidered.