On Tuesday, January 27 Ontario Transport Minister Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, announced that Metrolinx has started major works on Metrolinx’s GO train extension to Bowmanville. The annonucement was welcomed by assorted Durham officials.
I find it amazing that none in the gathering found it incredulous to note that it will take 15 years – or longer going by Metrolinx’s track record – to lay just 18.7 kms of track, albeit with modified bridges.
Durham residents have been waiting for the project for decades, and going by long delays at Metrolinx’s other major projects – such as Finch West LRT and Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit and even the UP Express – it is not confirmed if Bowmanville Extension deadlines will be met.
And the extension will still not be powered for electric trains. Which century are we living in?
Bus network isn’t as affordable and efficient either as some of the networks in Third World countries – leave alone other First World nations. Just ask a Brock senior without a car who has a doctor’s appointment in Uxbridge or a Beaverton school kid without a car who has found a job at the Independent.
I have been fortunate enough to travel widely and I would suggest that officials in charge of our transport sector visit some of the Third World metropolitan area networks. They may not be as environmentally-friendly as Canada proposes to be or their ridership as disciplined, but they are efficient in moving a huge mass of people across vast distances daily.
Buses in Kuala Lumpur or Delhi may not run on time, but they are of a high frequency. Local trains in Mumbai carry thousands of commuters to and from work.
All, I suspect at lower prices, than a train ride in Canada.
Third World cities have built modern electrified metros connecting greater metropolitan areas in far shorter times than the lifetime it is taking for the Bowmanville Extension to be born.
I believe it is time our minister starts holding officials accountable for projects that are not only delayed, but whose costs have ballooned over the years it takes beyond the initial projected completion date.
At the end of the day, who pays for these massive cost overruns on billions-of-dollar projects?
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