OTTAWA — With Ottawa set to unveil a blueprint for the country’s transport system as early as next month, railways are urging the federal government to increase aid to their industry, the National Post reports.
Bill Rowat, president and chief executive of The Railway Association of Canada, said railways have many advantages over other types of transport that politicians do not always recognize.
“In terms of developing policy the difficulty is always to break the current way of doing business,” he said after a speech to the Toronto Railway Club yesterday.
“Governments at all levels have been in the highways business for so many years that to break them out of that mold is a very, very big challenge.”
Ottawa has been studying the transport network for two years, first through a blue ribbon review panel and more recently through discussions with industry players. The forthcoming blueprint will set the stage for a White Paper that will direct transport policy for the next decade.
Compared to the most common alternative, trucking, Mr. Rowat said railways are more efficient, use less land, are faster, more environmentally friendly, safer and cheaper for government in terms of associated infrastructure.
Yet, Ottawa has been slow to invest. For example, while the U.S. has earmarked US$217-billion over six years for transport and infrastructure and the U.K. has a 10-year, $300-billion program, in Canada there is only the $2-billion infrastructure fund.
“We need something compatible and similar in Canada,” he said.
The rail association is studying how best to use the infrastructure fund. A leading idea is to seek money to upgrade the tracks of the country’s short line railways so they can handle the heavier loads already shipped on the mainlines.
Another option is for governments to follow the lead of Quebec, which has provided property tax relief and funding for short line carriers, he said. The railways have been seeking similar breaks in Ontario for years.
“Policy makers must consider rail and intermodal systems as integral to the transportation solutions for the future,” he said.