Waterloo rail plan 'makes a lot of sense,' Murray says

Ontario Transportation Minister Glen Murray says a business case made by a consortium of Waterloo Region cities and private sector companies forall-day, two-way GO service betweendowntown Kitchener anddowntown Toronto "makes a lot of sense."

Thebusiness plan, which was released Monday,looks to sell the new two-way rail linkto the provincial government by focusing on the economic benefits of expandedGO Train service, saying it would bringan additional 37,600 jobs and generate $838 million in annual personal income tax.

The report also argues improvements to commuter rail service would transform theGreater Toronto Area, Guelph and Waterloo Region into a technology "supercluster" capable of competing directly with Silicon Valley.

"We're losing in our regional economy including in the Kitchener-Waterloo area about $6-11 billion a year,"Murray told The Morning Edition host Craig Norris on Tuesday.

'We have to find some money'

Additional rail service however, will come at a price, likely in the billions of dollars.

Exactly how the minority Liberal government plans to pay for the rail new infrastructure remains a question, especially as Ontario stares down an $11.7-billion deficit this year.

Murray didn't say what means the province would use to raise the necessary cash, only that "many options have been proposed" andthat plans to build more rapid transit in the provincehassupport from the business community.

"When I talk to [former BlackBerry CEO]Jim Balsillie and [Communitech CEO] Ian Klugman and [Desire2Learn CEO] John Baker about the additional expenditures, some of them have said to me quite clearly that the modest kinds of revenue increases that are being proposed just make plain sense."

"We have to find some money," Murray said. "You can't buy transit systems at a garage sale."

Murray didn't specify whether or not a full-day, two-way GO train service between Kitchener and the GTA would be built, but he did promise to the people of Waterloo "we will get their transit solutions for them."