Gravenhurst council appears unlikely to revisit the location of a future Northlander train stop, despite a last-minute push from rail advocates to tie the new passenger shelter to the town’s historic station.
Gravenhurst council received a presentation this week urging the town to work with Ontario Northland to place a future Northlander passenger shelter closer to the old train station.
Speaking at a committee of the whole meeting on March 17, Lucille Frith, co-chair of the Northeastern Ontario Rail Network, outlined ongoing advocacy efforts tied to the return of the Northlander passenger rail service.
Frith said the group is now focused on final elements such as passenger waiting areas and preserving heritage stations along the route.
“We’re down to the final advocacy aspects – passenger waiting areas and retention of heritage stations,” she told council.
She pointed to recent success in Matheson, where the group worked with Ontario Northland to prevent demolition of a historic station. Instead, a passenger shelter will be built adjacent to the building, allowing both passenger protection and preservation of local history.
Frith added similar work is underway in Huntsville, where a new shelter is being located beside the town’s 1924 heritage station.
“It is imperative that the history of northern Ontario be retained and valued as that is part of the traveller’s experience,” she said. “Locating the new shelter next to the train station says Ontario Northland cares about their passengers.”
Frith asked Gravenhurst to enter discussions with Ontario Northland about leasing the grassy land between Brock Street and the existing station to accommodate a shelter for the returning service.
However, Mayor Heidi Lorenz suggested the opportunity to influence the shelter’s location may have already passed.
“I believe the train has left the station on the possibility of making any deals,” Lorenz said, noting council has had more than a year to consider the issue without bringing forward a resolution.
Ontario Northland plans to construct a new shelter and kiosk near the Your Independent Grocer, approximately 91 metres from the historic station.
Earlier in the meeting, Ontario Northland CEO Chad Evans presented details on the planned shelters, emphasizing accessibility improvements tied to the renewed rail service.
Chief administrative officer Scott Lucas said while he could not speak on behalf of Ontario Northland, it was his understanding the agency has been committed to the current location for some time.
Council took no action following the presentations.
New shelters equipped with seating, lighting and heating are planned for several communities along the route, including Matheson, Kirkland Lake, Temiskaming Shores, Temagami, South River, Huntsville, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Washago.
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As if gravenhurst can afford to miss this opportunity with all the businesses closing up in the downtown core. So why not turn away tourism as well as the chance for locals to use this much needed commodity. How can they be selfish on this? ..we have waited for a train to be brought back up through these parts..and been very sad it was lost to begin with. My dad was engineer on the old Canadian for the c.p.r. and we were raised knowing the value this service provides. We also know we lost a wonderful heritage station with a restaurant and big turntable, there was a boarding house and town homes the c.p.r provided 6 families. There are 4 of those homes left..boarding house burnt down and the rest was torn down. There’s now a newer station in its place with a modular unit for c.p.r workers to stay over.
Its nothing like the historical buildings that were lost. So please, dont lose this opportunity to mix heritage with modern yet bring our train back..ty
Oh look, a homeless junkie shelter thatll be destroyed in less than a week. Cool!
Major fail here!
If the “train has left the station” Gravenhurst has missed that train –
after a year long opportunity.
Mayor Heidi Lorenz should stop making excuses and get off her rear and do something about this. Otherwise, she needs to be replaced.
So per usual, Gravenhurst Town Council was hopelessly out of touch with current events, refused to advocate for the people of Gravenhurst, procrastinated until they were forced to listen, and then told concerned citizens “too bad, so sad”. It’s being made very clear from my own personal involvement in this town that the council doesn’t actually care that they have a beautiful Heritage building that has been 1/3 vacant for years and could be a beautiful transportation hub for Gravenhurst. The vet and taxi service pay for the building with their rent so the fact that the main lobby area is empty doesn’t matter to them.