Summit looks at getting trains back on track

NEWS RELEASE

ALGOMA UNIVERSITY

************************* Algoma Rail Summit: Getting Transportation on Track

SAULT STE. MARIE, ON (July 6, 2009) - On July 16, 2009, at Searchmont Resort, the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains (CAPT), with support from NORDIK Institute and Community Development Corporation of Sault Ste. Marie, will be hosting an Algoma Rail Summit: Getting Transportation on Track in order to bring together people from various sectors such as industry, federal and provincial government, municipalities, First Nations, economic development, tourism and agriculture to discuss the importance of rail, both passenger and freight, in North Eastern Ontario.

Some participants will travel to the summit on the ACR passenger train.

The summit will have three segments:

1) The history of rail policy in Canada with keynote speaker Harry Gow from Transport 2000

2) Current rail policy, with keynote speaker the Honourable Dean Del Mastro who is head of the All-Party Federal Rail Caucus and Conservative MP for Peterborough, and

3) Future of rail presented via short video clips of contemporary experts.

The day will wrap up with a round table which allows for all participants to have their voices heard.

As a community organization, CAPT recognizes the importance of having community input in decision making.

It is crucial that both federal and provincial government representatives attend since accessing infrastructure stimulus funding for rail requires financial commitment from both senior levels of government, as well as the applicable rail companies.

It is vital that provincial, federal and industry representation collaborate in order for Northeastern Ontario to have an efficient rail service.

While Northern Ontario faces the challenges created by our current economic times, CAPT is taking a sustainable approach to supporting prosperity in the North and is endorsing rail upgrades as a shovel-ready economic stimulus project.

Because passenger rail service offers solutions to many of the challenges that are affecting the North's economic diversity and development, and because rail freight is vital to our economic health and diversity, there are steps that need to be taken to bring the existing rail opportunities back to full operating condition.

Upgrades to the rail beds between Sault Ste. Marie and Hearst and Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury are urgently needed, as well as a plan to make most effective use of rail infrastructure.

It is vital to the sustainability of the communities in our region that the Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury rail line be reinstated in order to connect our rural and isolated regions and communities to more densely populated regions and larger municipalities both for freight and passengers. Otherwise, we will become increasingly isolated economically and socially - something our communities cannot afford.

CAPT is a not-for-profit organization comprised of individuals, businesses and other interests who recognize the significant economic, social, cultural, historical and environmental value of passenger and freight rail service in Northeastern Ontario, specifically the Algoma District.

To register for the summit or for more information contact: Lori Middaugh at (705) 949-2301, ext. 4356 or by e-mail.

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