Politically Incorrect

The Little Train that shouldn’t

by Arthur Weinreb

November 24, 2003

Federal Transport Minister, David Collenette, recently gave the go ahead for a rail link between Toronto’s Union Station and Pearson International Airport. The U.K. born Collenette has an obsession bordering on a fetish with trains that seems silly at a time when Canada’s seaports and airlines are facing serious terrorist threats. And as future felon Martha Stewart might say, this is not a good thing.

Collenette’s announcement of the airport link comes days after he committed over $700 million for his pet project--a rapid rail service between Windsor and Quebec City. This project may not get off the ground since Paul Martin, Canada’s prime minister-in-waiting-and-waiting, indicated that he will conduct a review of the money that the Transport Minister had allocated to Via Rail for the improvements.

Collenette believes that the line to the airport won’t cost the taxpayers a cent (hmmm, where have we heard this before?). In order to evaluate how beneficial this rail link will be, it is helpful to review Collenette’s thinking concerning past matters to see whether or not to be skeptical about this new way to reach the airport.

• While Minister of Defense, some members of the Canadian Airborne regiment engaged in improper and despicable conduct. David’s solution--he disbanded the unit.
• When Israel’s national airline was the subject of terrorist threats in Canada, Collenette’s first reaction was to re-think whether or not El Al should be allowed to fly in and out of Canada. Seems the Minister has the same views that are held by lefty idol, Yassir Arafat--all problems can be solved if you can just get rid of the Jews.
• Author Susan Delacourt, in her new book, Juggernaut, quoted Collenette as saying, after Paul Martin was fired/quit from the cabinet; "That’s it. It’s all over for Martin." It seemed the thought never occurred to the shallow thinking Collenette that Martin, being freed from cabinet responsibilities, would use the time to build up his then commanding lead. Paul Martin’s future, unlike that of Collenette’s, has never depended upon the whims of Jean Chrétien.
• During the prelude to the war with Iraq, Collenette bemoaned the fact that the repressive and dictatorial Soviet Union was no longer around to counter the United States. Lenin must have had the Transport Minister in mind when he coined the term "useful idiots". That presupposed, however, that Collenette is useful.

Given the track record of the guy who has given a whole new meaning to the word "mediocrity", perhaps this rail link is not a good idea. After all, who will use it?

The rail link will be handy for those who live east and west of Toronto and who find it convenient to take a train to Toronto. They can merely transfer to the airport line. Visitors who are staying at the Royal York Hotel will probably find it easy to walk across the street and catch a train. But those who are staying in other downtown hotels, would, luggage in hand, have to make their way to Union Station. Can you imagine a federal cabinet minister taking a cab to the train station so he or she can grab a train with the commoners as they make their way back to Ottawa? It would be a lot easier, and not that much more expensive to simply grab a cab or a limo and head to the airport. For those who want to save some money, it will be cheaper to grab a bus that comes to all the major downtown hotels.

The difference in cost between a limo and the train will not be so much that it will break anyone’s expense account. And people who live in the suburbs north of the train station will not go like the idea of going all the way south to catch a train to get up north again. Now the train will stop at the Dundas West subway station but those who rely on public transportation to get to the airport will probably not want to pay the estimated $20 for the train. The additional cost of the train will not be much lower than the cost of taking a cab from the Kipling station.

Thirty years ago when business people had to go into the office before flying out of town in the afternoon or evening, the train would have had more potential customers. But now with email, laptops and BlackBerries, people are more likely to stay in the ‘burbs and leave for the airport from home.

The taxpayers of Canada can pretty well say goodbye to David’s "don’t pay a cent event". There’s a good chance that Collenette’s choo-choo train will go the same way as the poor Soviet Union did.