Thank you, Mr. Chair.

The Railway Association of Canada is the voice of Canadian railways.

We represent passenger railways—whether they are intercity like VIA or Tshiuetin, commuter such as Metrolinx or Exo, or tourism railways like Rocky Mountaineer and Train de Charlevoix. We also represent Class one railways like CN and CPKC and shortlines such as SRY in B.C., and QNS&L in Quebec and Labrador.

Every year, Canada's railways move millions of people and 380 billion dollars' worth of goods, including half of Canada's exports. Rail is the safest and greenest mode of ground transportation.

Railways of all types continue to play an essential role moving Canada. Dedicated tracks for passenger and freight are required for Canada to have the rail capacity needed for both to grow.

Any passenger service proposal must demonstrate that freight capacity to handle current and future anticipated volumes can be preserved. Otherwise, we are not supporting Canada's economy. Shippers that depend on freight capacity to move essential goods to communities and international markets depend on rail.

Canada was built by rail. With proper planning, consultation, and strategic decision-making and execution, Canada can continue to build and grow by rail.

Historical context is important. The story of passenger rail is older than Confederation. Railways fuelled the growth of cities in the east and led to the founding of urban centres in the west.

After dominating land transportation from the mid-19th century to the early part of the 20th century, passenger rail ridership fell in the 1940s and 50s as travel by car and plane became more economical.

By the mid-1970s, passenger rail across many parts of Canada's vast geography was no longer economically viable.

To prevent its disappearance and provide a basic level of intercity passenger rail service, the federal government created VIA Rail as a Crown corporation in 1977. VIA trains would run on private freight railway tracks under negotiated track access agreements.

Following continued ridership decline amidst the recession, the federal government rationalized Via's route network in the 1990s. The routes eliminated were primarily on the former CP network. Today, Via operates almost exclusively on CN track.

Via ridership displayed healthy growth in the years leading up to the pandemic. Ridership volumes are recovering strongly from pandemic lows. While passenger ridership grows, Canada's exporters and producers need freight rail services more than ever. Freight rail traffic, along with Canada's GDP, has roughly doubled over the past three decades, and freight demand is only expected to increase.

Freight railways are investing billions of dollars every year to meet that demand safely and efficiently. Any constraint on the ability of freight railways to meet customer demand would directly limit Canada's current and future GDP. We must, therefore, ensure that passenger rail and freight rail can continue to grow and flourish in Canada, in and outside of the Toronto-Quebec City corridor.

If Canada is serious about advancing high-frequency rail, dedicated tracks are not a “nice to have” but a “must have”, and it must be done in a way that fully protects the freight capacity needed for today and the physical space needed to accommodate future growth. Passenger rail, just like freight, must be set up for long-term success. Without growing rail capacity, both passenger and freight, we face a future of higher emissions and more congestion on publicly-funded roads. Dedicated passenger rail tracks in densely populated economic regions are necessary at this important juncture in Canada's history. This must be done strategically, in close consultation with all stakeholders and rail experts, with both passenger and freight backgrounds.

This committee and all involved must carefully consider complex issues like grade separation, crossing safety, track differences, technology and infrastructure, among others. First-mile, last-mile connections and multimodal integration are critical. There is a high degree of complexity in urban centres in places like Toronto's Union Station and Montreal's Gare Centrale.

We are a country that has built big things before, and we can do it again.

Investing in dedicated tracks for passenger rail in the corridor will mean accessibility and economic, environmental and, most importantly, safety benefits.

Mr. Chair, Canada's population is expected to grow by 14 million by the year 2100. We must make wise, informed and inspired choices now. Anything less than dedicated tracks will hold Canada back at a time when we must be moving people, goods, our economy and our country forward.

Thank you.