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Originally Posted by Blitz
Arnold, there are two possible locations: the airport, and Wellington Road near Wyandotte. They'll be abandoning the whole rail line from Windsor to Chatham since it's only being used by Via. I see your point about the station needing to be near downtown but I think the benefits of this plan are huge. We'll get rid of dozens of at-grade crossings in Windsor/Essex, and the east side of the metro will no longer be cut in half by these tracks.
The only sensible use for the old rail line IMO is a bike path. The current path that meanders along the river ends at Walker Road and the Ganatchio Trail ends at Lauzon Road. So all we'd need to do is connect those two through the use of this line and we'd have a 20km crosstown bike path from the Bridge all the way to the east city limits. There has been some talk of light rail but I'm not sure the market is big enough to support that. Anyway, here's an article that appeared this morning:
Via Rail scouts Windsor site
Options include area near airport and old depot near Wellington Road
By Dave Battagello
The Windsor Star
Jan. 21, 2006
Via Rail has been scouting possible sites for a new rail station in Windsor, according to a spokeswoman for the passenger service.
“We are looking at a number of options, but no decision has been made,” said Catherine Kaloutsky.
“We recognize with the Windsor station there is a need to upgrade and improve. But no decisions have been made on relocation.”
A $500-million federal plan calls for the 90-kilometre CN rail line used largely by Via passenger trains between Windsor and Chatham to be abandoned.
The government funds will twin a CP Railway line from two to four tracks and construct several road-rail grade separations to help increase the speed of both freight and passenger service. Work is expected to be completed within about five years.
Relocation of the Via station in Walkerville is part of the plan. A site near the airport and the old CP Rail depot near Wellington Avenue close to the entrance of the Detroit River rail tunnel are among options being discussed, sources said.
“There are a few options out there,” Kaloutsky said. “We’re in a position where we are looking at the possibilities and talking to CP. We are looking for solutions that will allow us to provide downtown service to customers.”
A cargo facility at the airport where air, rail and truck freight can be exchanged will also become a reality under the deal.
Construction and servicing of the property off Lauzon Parkway where the CP tracks cut through the airport’s northeast corner has an estimated cost of $30 million to $40 million, according to city officials.
The feds and the city are negotiating who will pay those costs.
A federal cabinet minister said the railway agreement is “not a question of if, but when.”
“There have been a lot of talks between Transport Canada, the mayor and myself on the (cargo facility) and rail consolidation,” said MP Joe Fontana, the labour and housing minister from London.
“It’s going well. No doubt it’s an incredible opportunity for Windsor. We are going to make it happen. We need to make sure Windsor is operating effectively as it can. Rail is a very important part of that.”
A solution has been agreed upon by the railways, city and feds, but final terms continue to be negotiated, the minister said.
“It’s an opportunity for win-win for everybody,” Fontana said. “Windsor is an important gateway to North America. We need to make sure it functions well. It’s never been a question of money, but a question of doing it right.”
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With respect to the rail line question, I should have done more browsing -- this was found on page one of this thread.
If Windsor's only train station will be at the airport, I think that would be horrible. It would make it very expensive for students to get to the train station, making it more difficult for St. Clair and U of W to attract students from the GTA and beyond.
I would prefer the station to be downtown, i.e. near the tunnel, especially if Via wants to connect with Amtrak trains out of Detroit heading to Chicago. Could Windsor support two stations -- one downtown and one at the airport? I think the answer to that is no, especially since Chatham captures a lot of the Essex County passengers.