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Hamilton pushes for new Via station

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#1 ·
Bratina pushes for new Via station
Councillor likes site across from LIUNA Station

A model train buff with a seat on city council has been scouting locations for a new Hamilton Via Rail station.

It comes after Bob Bratina, radio man and downtown councillor, also struck a task force to try to restore Via passenger service Hamilton lost in 1992.

The lifelong model-maker was frustrated by the city's lack of progress in wooing Via back, after it fell to drastic cutbacks. He heard rumours of a possible Via station in ... Copetown?

"It's an urgent matter to me," said Bratina, whose model of an 1880s train that delivered the Globe newspaper is on display in St. George, Ont. "And I'm saying, 'Move (the station) back where it was.'"

He has already taken photos of a site where he'd like to see a station, a piece of land on the west side of James Street North across from the old CN station, which is now LIUNA Station.

"My vision is to have a three or four-storey structure: the bottom devoted to passengers and ticketing, then three storeys on top of that which could be a hotel or other commercial property."

Of course, the task force -- with two councillors (Bratina and Brian McHattie) and members from the Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Hamilton and civilians -- has a quixotic quality.

It's the latest in a long string of efforts to restore Via. Bratina's motion notes a 2003 pledge by then transport minister David Collenette to spend $435 million on rail service in southern Ontario -- and bring Via service to Hamilton.

Hopes rose again when Tony Valeri, MP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, took over as transport minister. But the power struggle between Jean Chretien and Paul Martin may have crashed Via's expansion plan.

The Martin government froze capital spending to rein in promises Chretien made in 2003. "Unfortunately, when the government changed hands, that ($435 million) was taken back," Via's Catherine Kaloutsky said.

Still, she says Via met with Hamilton city staff as recently as November 2004 but hasn't decided if it will restore service. "We're still mindful of where we once had service," she said.

Via's meeting in Hamilton did not put a price on a future station, she said, but dealt with how federal investment is made, the information Via must show the government and who must be at the table for decision-making.

"Definitely, location is an aspect to be reviewed and decided upon. But we're not at a stage where we've made a decision either way," Kaloutsky said.

McHattie, who led an earlier push to get Ottawa to deliver on promises of a station and more trains, said the fall Via meeting, which he attended, revealed indecision on whether Hamilton deserves service.

"We're getting a little nervous about (the restoration push) and want more control," McHattie said. "This may be happening at the staff level, but that's why we want to intervene as nosy councillors, to get our finger on this."

Via passenger trains currently travel through Hamilton to New York, but city residents have to go to Burlington to catch Via. Bratina says rail is becoming more important to Hamilton, with GO Transit planning to add a third track by 2007 to clear the bottleneck between Hamilton and Aldershot.

Bratina wants the Centre for Community Study to study Via's recent history here and update 1992 passenger numbers to reflect trends such as increased commuting.

Bratina will also talk with LIUNA, which owns the land he's eyeing for a station. He has already set a firm one-year deadline in which he wants to see a Hamilton station under way.

"That doesn't mean shovels in the ground but could mean a site determined, planning developed and a potential inaugural start-date, whether it's two or three years down the road," he says.

The task force will have its first meeting later this month.

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NA...e&cid=1107471011361&call_pageid=1020420665036
 
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#2 ·


Red line is where Bratina wants to build the new Via station.

About time SOMETHING is being done about Via station to Hamilton. It's stupid that Via runs through Hamilton but doesn't make a stop.

But oh sure build a Via station to Copetown though lol. :no:
 
#4 · (Edited)


Blue line = Via
Green line = GO Train

Both Via and GO Train uses the same track but once you come into Hamilton the GO Train gets spilt into another rail track to downtown Hamilton.

Once the old CN station, which is now LIUNA Station, closed Via and GO Train left Hamilton in 1992.

But in 1997 or 1998 the GO Train service came back to Hamilton and moved into the TH&B station. Renovated for a couple of million dollars.

 
#5 ·
Excerpt from a recent speech given by Tony Valeri, Liberal MP for Hamilton East/Stoney Creek to the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.

Going forward, there remains a transportation objective I want to address and that is making Hamilton's case for VIA Rail passenger service. I want to tell you today, it isn't about whether to restore passenger service - it's about where and when we restore that service.

There has been a lot of discussion in the media, and some have called for a new Via Rail passenger station to be located in downtown Hamilton as the right strategic decision.

think we need to look at it from the point of view of the passenger. What makes the most sense in terms of someone who is going to head out of the city to Ottawa, Montreal, Windsor or Toronto?

Where should such a station be located? Where is the most convenient site? Where is the parking? Should it be along a major artery? How do we leverage the station into some other type of economic activity such as tourism?

I'm confident that working with all sides, we can find a solution for Hamilton, certainly for VIA and certainly for the people of our community most importantly. With this approach, the passenger station itself and the passenger service will be yet another part of Hamilton's vital transportation infrastructure.
Good and bad news here. The good news is that the Feds FINALLY realize Hamilton needs a VIA station. But the bad news is that Valeri wants it in Stoney Creek, a suburb of Hamilton

God I wish Sheila Copps won the nomination against Valeri. First Valeri as Transport Minister cancels money to build VIA station to Hamilton and lets WestJet change hub from Hamilton Airport to Pearson and then now all of a sudden the Feds will help Hamilton once again and build a VIA station but Valeri wants it in Stoney Creek. :bash:

Imagine the image Hamilton will get if a passengers leave a VIA station in Stoney Creek. It'll go something like this "Yep, just as I thought - there really isn't a city here. Just a suburban blob surrounding some ugly steelmills." Great way to improve the city's image. :no:

Put the friggin VIA station downtown, in the heart of the city, right where it belongs dumbass!
 
#6 ·
Steeltown said:
Good and bad news here. The good news is that the Feds FINALLY realize Hamilton needs a VIA station. But the bad news is that Valeri wants it in Stoney Creek, a suburb of Hamilton
does he really?

do you see what I mean about self-destruction? McMaster opening a campus in Burlington...

is it not self-evident that downtown needs this stuff the most? What the **** is the difference if VIA stops in Ancaster or Stoney Creek? Why bother?
 
#7 ·
With McMaster I'm okay with. Most Universities have campuses outside of their city. Plus McMaster is building a research park at the old Camco site so I'm cool with McMaster. Plus in the future McMaster will start building student residence centre in Hamilton downtown.



VIA station in downtown Hamilton makes perfect sense:

1) easy connections to the GO Transit system
2) help revitalize downtown Hamilton especially James Street North
3) increase the flow of people into downtown Hamilton
4) walking distance to Hamilton Place, Convention Centre, major hotels, restaurants, offices, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Theatre Aquarius, Copps Coliseum, the waterfront, Dundurn Castle, CFL Hall of Fame, Hess Village, Locke Street, and so on
5) downtown is the hub of our transit systems, HSR and GO, as well as our taxi industry
6) VIA route map can only help our downtown and redeveloping harbour

This is a once in a life time opportunity to revitalize our downtown. To suggest a VIA station anywhere else then downtown Hamilton is a moron.
 
#8 ·
Via says core isn t ideal spot for new station

BY ROB FAULKNER
A key player at Via Rail says downtown isn’t an ideal place for a new Hamilton station, despite claims of a city task force.

Pierre Santoni, Ontario regional director at Via Rail, said he’d need to see an impressive business case before the Crown corporation builds in the core.

“There are lots of things that go against being downtown, including parking and the fact that there’s a big station in Aldershot,” he said. “Farther east is our preference.”

His comments came days after the first meeting of a task force to restore Via service, which was cut in 1992. Task force chair Bob Bratina insists on a station downtown, and wants to make it part of the new group’s mandate.

The task force is planning field trips to explore a site at Liuna Station (a former CN station), as well as a spot near CN’s Stuart Street yards. They want the mayor to ask Ottawa for restored Via service downtown.

The motion is going to council.

Yesterday, Santoni denied a rumour that Via had already purchased land for a station near Centre Mall. He did say an east-end station makes more sense, to avoid impacting existing Via stops in Aldershot and Grimsby.

Despite political promises, Santoni didn’t promise Hamilton a new station any time soon.

It would cost Via $2 million to $7 million to build a station and install extra track. He’d need to make a solid business case to his bosses.

“Whenever you put in a stop, you add time to the train schedule and it has an impact on passengers,” he said. “Everyone wants you to stop in their back yard, but at some point you become a clickety-click train.”

Santoni said he needs to see population projections near several possible Hamilton sites. The city is at a disadvantage compared to Aldershot, where
tracks split on their way to Windsor and London.

“It’s a perfect location because every train into Toronto goes through Aldershot,” Santoni said. “That’s why I said to (Hamilton officials) ... ‘Just take over Aldershot and call it Hamilton West.’”

He said drawbacks to a downtown station include asking suburban riders to pay for inner-city parking, unlike at more remote stations.

“If there is going to be exponential growth downtown, we don’t know that, and we need the city to provide us with the numbers to show that,” he said.

It’s early for the task force, and Bratina insists a downtown station is more convenient to entertainment venues, and that the core is densely populated. Mac students would ride Via more than folks in Stoney Creek, he said. “These Via guys didn’t make any reference to that, or to a step in the revitalization of downtown.”
 
#10 ·
Via not coming to Hamilton

HAMILTON - As a city task force looks into the idea of a new Via rail for downtown Hamilton.

A top Via official has told the Spectator, downtown is far from an ideal location for a new station.

Pierre Santoni says it's mainly because of poor parking and the fact it's too close to the station in Aldershot.

He says Via would prefer a new station in east Hamilton.

But the city's task force has held its first meeting, and has called on the city to ask Ottawa to build a new Via station downtown.

Task force chair Bob Bratina says the parking issues can be resolved, and that downtown is convenient for most of the population.
------------------------------------------------------------

At least we got some sane councilors. Bob Bratina to the rescue :horse:
 
#11 ·
Hell I'd settle for Hamilton's old Via Station anyday. Its the one in Kitchener thats a total disgrace - for any city. It's simply a joke. Hopefully these grand plans for the LRT Interchange / Convention Centre will happen - only then will we actually get a train station thats bigger than the current 'brick toll booth' we have now.
 
#13 ·
Via can be viable downtown

By Bob Bratnia

As chair of Via Rail task force, I'd like to respond to some of the comments from Pierre Santoni in a recent Spectator article.

Santoni, Ontario regional director at Via Rail, told The Spectator he'd need to see an impressive business case before the Crown corporation builds in the core. "There are a lots of things that go against being downtown, including parking and the fact that there's a big station in Aldershot," he said. "Farther east is our preference."

I would point out that there is an impressive business case for a downtown Hamilton station.

The downtown ward 1 and 2 have a combined population of over 70,000 among them significant numbers of middle and upper income families.

Our demographics fit very well with the VIA rail passenger profile...baby boomers, apartment and condominium dwellers, young professionals, empty nesters, university students, etc.

Satoni would probably be surprised to find that Dundurn Street liquor store has the highest sales per square foot of any LCBO outlet and is in the top 5 per cent of all 600 stores in gross sales because of the high-end purchasing power of affluent residents in Hamilton's southwest neighbourhoods.

The business case is also supported by hotels and attractions such as our new Art Gallery of Hamilton, Marine Discovery Centre, Hamilton Place, Copps Coliseum, great restaurants and easy proximity to other tourist destinations such as Toronto, Niagara, the Waterloo County Mennonite area and so on.

Santoni did not suggest in our meeting or your interview that Hamilton might be considered a destination by many travellers, even though very attractive packages could be created highlighting our low hotel rates and central location. The brochure for Amtrak service from New York City highlights attractions in all the communities along the route, including Grimsby and Oakville, but since it doesn't stop here, not Hamilton.

With regard to cost, little money would be required for infrastructure. Trains would simply stop as they do in Grimsby and St. Catharines on the main line with no need to install new rail sidings.

Paved parking already exists with the potential for a thousand or more spaces.

Passengers can be accommodated by simple conversion of existing buildings. Cost might be an issue, however, to travellers arriving at Santoni's "perfect location" of Aldershot or at Stoney Creek, having to pay an extra $15 or $20 taxi fare to actually get somewhere once they've arrived.

We in fact have a solid business plan for VIA service based on facts and research, some of which can be accessed on the Centre for Community Study website (www.communitystudy.ca). Our inquiries show that Hamiltonians want there VIA service back and they want it downtown.

Bob Bratina is a Hamilton War 2 Councillor and chair of the Hamilton VIA Rail task force.
 
#14 ·
“There are lots of things that go against being downtown, including parking and the fact that there’s a big station in Aldershot,” he said. “Farther east is our preference.”
idiot!

a) parking? What about public transit? I would have thought a VIA official would be more sympathetic to public transit.

b) Who cares about Aldershot? Wasn't Aldershot the replacement for Hamiltons old VIA service? As if they'd still think of running Aldershot if they establish a station in Hamilton.

This guy works for VIA? No wonder things are so fucked up in the first place.
 
#15 ·
Frankly I don't understand why Go Trains do not run all the way from Toronto to Niagara to tie the golden horseshoe all together, and connecting with downtown Hamilton should be a no-brainer, though after all the years of discussing passenger rail development/investment, it never seems that provincial and federal governments are serious as our European counterparts.
 
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