Kingston remains “promising” as a potential stop on the Alto high-speed rail corridor, but an official decision may have to wait until spring, the Crown corporation said.
During its annual meeting Wednesday, Robert Prichard, chair of the Alto board of directors, said the city has made a strong case for inclusion, but a feasibility assessment would still need to be completed.
“We think there is a presumptively strong case to go to Kingston, but we still have to do the work,” he said.
The company has only officially announced Peterborough as a stop on the Toronto to Ottawa corridor.
Prichard said with each additional stop there is a tradeoff between journey time and how many passengers will be added to the trip. An analysis will need to be undertaken to determine how much a stop in Kingston will increase ridership.
“Every additional stop extends the journey time,” Prichard said.
Other eastern Ontario communities like Smiths Falls and Perth will not be directly serviced by Alto, but Prichard said those communities will still have access through the high-speed rail’s intersection with VIA Rail.
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“It’s the synergy between the two systems,” he said.
Martin Imbleau, the CEO of Alto, said the company’s first priority is the Ottawa to Montreal corridor, so the earliest a decision would be made about Kingston would be spring 2027.
Kingston was not a stop on the initial corridor, Prichard said, so consultations with that community have yet to happen.
But opponents of the rail system say those who could be directly affected by the rail line, deserve to have their questions answered.
“At some point, being told to wait for answers simply isn’t good enough,” Heather Levy, local lead of Stone Mills Against Alto and a member of United Against Alto, told Global News.
“We are being asked to live inside a very large question mark, with potentially life-changing consequences hanging over us, while the people making the decisions continue to tell us to be patient,” she added.
The concern is particularly great for farmers and the owners of rural properties in Lennox and Addington and South Frontenac townships.
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“What seems to get lost in that conversation is the distinction between the potential benefits of a station in Kingston and the consequences of getting the railway there,” Levy said. “For communities like Stone Mills, that could mean losing homes, severing farmland and permanently altering rural communities. Those impacts deserve at least as much consideration as the potential benefits to Kingston.”
Stone Mills is located approximately 50 km northwest of Kingston.
Imbleau said Alto will continue to listen to the concerns of residents and has new consultations planned for next year.
“We don’t want to cut land,” he said. “We will find the route that has the least impact.”
David Bellerive, founder of the advocacy organization Go Alto, said he feels Alto is actively listening to the public and “refining its plans based on community feedback.”
“The project is still in development, and finding the right solutions takes time,” he said.
At an unrelated news conference Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the federal government will continue to work with the governments of Quebec and Ontario to advance the rail project.
Quebec’s premier designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon was adamant throughout his campaign that he would end the province’s co-operation with the project.
An Abacus poll released in the spring found 62 per cent of Canadians supported the rail project with 25 per cent strongly supporting it.
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