Northeastern Ontario Rail Network

The Ontario Northland Railway operates from Toronto to North Bay and back again, but the stops are few and far between. The aim of NEORN is to see the trains stop throughout Muskoka and other northeastern Ontario regions, to give residents and cottagers better options for travel both north and south. Bus services currently operate throughout the area, but Frith and her fellow NEORN advocates — which now number in the thousands — say it isn’t enough. “We need an integrated system, where people can connect to reliable, efficient modes of transportation,” says Frith, who lives on Lake of Bays in Muskoka. “On the heels of the pandemic and with increased connectivity, more and more people are moving north, to live at their cottages year-round, or to move to homes in the area. With better transportation options, this kind of move becomes possible for more people who can still keep their jobs in Toronto or other cities south of us.” This kind of population increase in the area supports the small communities of Muskoka, including industry, school systems and more.

“The benefits don’t stop there, either,” says Frith. “Trains are better for the environment than any other mode of transportation. The return of this service would get cars off of highways. Not only can trains move more people, but they can accommodate passengers in comfort while also emitting less greenhouse gases than other transportation options.” NEORN’s site sums it up nicely: “Rail stands alone in its ability to combine energy efficiency with economic and environmental benefits. It has a fuel savings of five to one, in terms of rail versus roads.”

What’s more, though, Frith also believes that the recent interest in trains stems from a desire to connect the country, which harkens back to the reasons for building rail infrastructure in the first place. Think about Canada’s first intercontinental railway — the Canadian Pacific Railway, built between 1881 and 1885, which connected Canada’s east and west coasts. The railway is still largely operational for freight, but passenger service began to dwindle in the 1960s. Here we are, more than 100 years later, looking for better ways to connect people and places again. “We need to look around the country and recognize that we’re made up of small communities,” says Frith. “Look at a rail map. That infrastructure is just sitting there. It’s another highway we aren’t using.” NEORN wants to do just that in their region — to use the tracks that already exist. “We need all the players involved to work together. The companies who own the tracts of land and the rail will collaborate. This isn’t the issue. The issue is that it’s all slow-going. The steps, the milestones we need to overcome, are too far apart. We just want to bring the milestones closer together, to get the job done.” Frith is confident this will happen. “It has to,” she says. “It’s a no-brainer. It just makes so much sense.”