A proposal for Elizabethtown-Kitley to spend $15,000 on further high-speed rail research went nowhere at council Monday night.
Staff Report A-26-30 recommended council approved $15,000 from the Strategic Initiatives Reserve for research into the opportunities and challenges a potential Kingston high-speed rail stop could create for Elizabethtown-Kitley and the broader Eastern Ontario rail network.
The recommendation was not moved or seconded at the Aug. 10 council meeting, meaning it did not get onto the floor for debate or a vote.
The lack of interest comes four months after E-K council formally opposed the ALTO high-speed rail project in its current form. In its April 13 resolution, however, council also called for alternative routing options along existing transportation corridors, including VIA Rail and Highway 401.
The proposed $15,000 study was connected to regional discussions about just such an alternative.
A separate business case commissioned by Kingston Accommodation Partners proposes a high-speed rail route generally following Highway 401, with stations at Belleville, Kingston and Brockville. The authors say their analysis has not been reviewed, checked or approved by Transport Canada, ALTO or Cadence and could contain errors or misunderstandings.
E-K’s staff report says Mayor Brant Burrow, along with other mayors and business representatives, was invited to meet July 20 with Andrew Antinucci, one of the authors of that study.
Staff subsequently reported that E-K, Brockville and North Grenville were being asked to consider jointly commissioning further research, including a feasibility study for a potential Brockville stop. E-K’s estimated share was $15,000.
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