Running Trades - a Voice for Canadian Railway Labour

By Mike De Souza, Canwest News Service

The rail industry is anticipating a busy winter in North America, propelled by billions of dollars in stimulus money for faster passenger trains from the Obama administration and a major government-sponsored report about high-speed trains in Canada's most heavily populated region.

"It is high noon for high-speed rail," said Paul Langan, the founder of High Speed Rail Canada, a group that promotes faster and more efficient passenger rail service. "It's decision time. It's time to make a decision about the future."

In the U.S., the government has announced at least $13 billion in new funding that is scheduled to be awarded in the coming weeks to regions or rail corridors for upgrading their infrastructure and speeding up their trains in nearly a dozen regions, including routes that link to Windsor, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

While some passenger lobby groups say better rail service can reduce the headaches of airport security and pollution from vehicles and planes, a Canadian industry association says that the anticipated investments would also create opportunities for other sectors such as construction, manufacturing and steel.