A new petition is calling on Ottawa to fund critical upgrades on the Newcastle Subdivision rail line in New Brunswick.
The petition was recently launched by Transport Action Atlantic, which promotes public transport.
Past president Ted Bartlett said the rail line has been allowed to deteriorate over the past 30 years.
“In the mid-1990s, 30 years ago, the passenger train travelled around between 60 and 70 miles an hour over most of the track through northern New Brunswick,” Bartlett told our newsroom.
“Now it’s limited to 30 miles an hour and in some places even less. It’s just not acceptable for a passenger train operation.”
The track is owned and operated by CN Rail but is also used by VIA Rail for its Ocean route between Halifax and Montreal.
Bartlett said VIA Rail recently added 90 minutes to the route due to even more speed restrictions, but trains regularly continue to be late.
In its most recent budget, the federal government announced new funding for VIA Rail to replace its aging fleet on routes outside the Québec City-Windsor Corridor.
Bartlett said while this is a long overdue investment, it will not solve the issue of delayed service along this rail line.
“We have to have track that’s up to passenger train standards in northern New Brunswick,” he said.
The petition also calls on the government to look at purchasing the rail line “so that infrastructure can be used to the fullest extent of public benefit.”
More than 190 people have signed the petition to date. Bartlett said they are distributing it to all municipalities along the rail line from Sackville to Campbellton.
With files from Tara Clow
