July 15, 2015

Growing the freight business on the railway

After talking to my brother and a taxi driver on a recent trip down home, it was brought to my attention the big increase of traffic on the highway. If even a small proportion of this freight traffic went by train, the future of our rail line to Gaspé would be assured. I wanted to convey this to our Minister of Transport, Mr Poëti.

July 15, 2015

The Honourable Robert Poëti
Minister of Transport

Dear Mr Minister,

I recently returned from a train trip to the Gaspésie to visit family. Because there is no evening bus on the return trip to Campbellton to catch the Ocean to Montréal, I took a taxi from New Richmond. According to my brother and the taxi driver, traffic on Route 132 has increased dramatically in the last ten years or so, including transport trucks. I don`t live there, so I don`t know what is being transported.

I hope the minister realizes that there is great potential to move some of this freight to the rails. That would make our roads safer, cheaper for the shipper, good for the economy, and less expense for annual road maintenance costs. In the past, I don`t think that the railway was aggressive enough to capture some of the freight transported by truck. The long term future of our passenger train is dependent on growing the freight business on the railway.

Yours sincerely,

Barry Brake
Montreal, QC

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The Gaspé Spec