Up to $300 million in funding will make Peterborough rail link a reality: MP
Published: July 24, 2008
Source: mykawartha.com
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Establishing a commuter train between Toronto and Peterborough has just jumped a major hurtle.

Today (Thursday) Lawrence Cannon, the federal minister of transport, announced the federal government is pumping $6.2 billion into Ontario to help with outdated and aging infrastructure. The funding comes under the Building Canada platform, the federal government’s long-term infrastructure plan.

Local MP Dean Del Mastro says $150 million of that Building Canada funding is going directly to establishing the rail link between Peterborough and Toronto. MP Del Mastro says that money will cover the entire cost of the project, everything from upgrading the rail to purchasing the rail equipment. The Province is also tossing in up to $150 million for the rail link. MP Del Mastro says it is more than enough funding to complete the project.

“It’s very exciting,” he says.

MP Del Mastro says the Peterborough rail link project is one of the three projects named and itimized in the infrastructure funding announced today.

It’s huge for Peterborough. It’s huge for our entire area,” he notes.

“It [the rail link] will be completed.”

The Province is also kicking in major amounts of funding under the new infrastructure agreement between the feds and the province. Over the next four years the Province will spend some $30 million in its Rural Connections Broadband program.

Check Mykawartha.com for further details.