Future of high speed rail to be discussed by city committee Monday

The future of high-speed rail in London is on the agenda at city hall Monday.

The civic works committee will discuss a report from staff that suggests a new downtown train station might be needed to integrate high-speed rail, Via Rail and London’s bus rapid transit plan.

READ MORE: Kathleen Wynne rolls out high speed rail plan

Premier Kathleen Wynne visited London two months ago to confirm the province’s plan to move ahead with high-speed rail for southwestern Ontario.

“We have lost opportunities as a province because we haven’t had this line in place,” said Wynne.

“I get that there’s going to be a robust conversation about how much it will cost, how much the project will cost, how much people will pay. We’re obviously going to work to keep the costs down as much as possible, but we’ve got to move ahead. We’ve got to not let this be another lost moment.”

The ambitious project is slated to cost a total of $20 billion.

The report suggests the high-speed rail line would share the station with Via Rail and may connect to the bus rapid transit line, which would mean more people are using it, but it’s unclear if a new station would be needed, or if the existing one on York Street could be renovated and expanded.

The first portion of the high-speed rail line linking London to Toronto is expected to be completed in 2025.

The civic works committee meeting starts at 12 p.m. at city hall.