We can and should bring passenger trains back to Algoma, and you can help make this happen. A key opportunity is coming up soon: Completing a marketing survey for the proposed Bear Train. This survey, made possible by a Community Foundations of Canada grant, is important because it will provide critical data for the Bear Train business plan.
So what is the Bear Train, also known as Mask-wa Oo-ta-ban? This project would provide safe, reliable all-season means to travel into/through remote wilderness areas of Algoma, from Sault Ste. Marie to Hearst. It would serve First Nations, rural communities, businesses, property owners along the rail corridor, remote tourism lodges, and back-country recreationists.
Mask-wa Transportation Association (MTA) Inc. is the not-for-profit corporation leading the charge. Led by Missanabie Cree First Nation, it is a partnership of First Nations, communities, and other stakeholders of the Algoma passenger train rail corridor. To start with, they are proposing weekend-only service, as the operating funds are much less. Service could be expanded if demand grows.
MTA Board Member Dorothy Macnaughton notes, “To qualify for this grant, we proved this service will be extremely beneficial to the communities along the line, to the economy of those communities, to First Nations people, people with disabilities, seniors, students, lodge owners, tourists, cottagers, and others.”
She urges, “Please help us do what is necessary to get the train on the tracks once again.”
Just one example of why the Bear Train would be a boon to Algoma: First Nations people would be much more able travel to and from their traditional lands, to pursue economic development opportunities in the region, and to access healthcare and other services in the Sault.
And then there’s the climate change factor: Increasing use of mass transit helps reduce overall fossil fuel emissions.
Although forestry and other industrial roads allow periodic access to remote parts of Algoma, they are not always safe or reliable. They cannot be considered public access without government committing to maintaining them. Hence the urgent need for passenger rail.
So why should someone living in the Sault care about the Bear Train? Well-known local musician and passenger train advocate Britta Wolfert responds:
“As a former small lodge operator, I saw much tourism-related use of the passenger train that used to run. At that time, most of the revenue came from tourism operators, camp owners, canoeists, wilderness campers, snowmobilers loading their machines onto baggage cars. I also think of seniors enjoying a relaxing journey to a lodge or to Hearst. Sault Ste. Marie benefitted hugely from being the jumping off point for this service: It boosted our local tourism revenues and jobs in hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, museums and galleries, and so on. The Bear Train would also provide another way for local people to get away on a relaxed vacation, with spectacular scenery and no traffic. Travelling by train is wonderful.”
So how can you help?
- Watch for and fill out the forthcoming marketing survey
- Contact your ward councillors, your MPP, and your MP and ask them to support the Bear Train
- Ask to be added to the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Train’s distribution list to receive newsletters/other information and/or volunteer your time (visit captrains.ca)
- Talk to your friends, family, neighbours, and coworkers about the need to bring passenger rail back to Algoma
Want to know more?
- Visit the Bear Train website
- Visit the Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains website and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for breathtaking photography and information on progress in getting the Bear Train on track
- Read a recent Sootoday article about the Bear Train proposal
