All (almost) aboard the Northlander’s return

MUSKOKA — Don’t hold your breath, but not one but two parties are promising to bring back the Northlander train.

Northern voters could have a say in the return of the Northlander passenger train when they vote June 7.

After Doug Ford said he’d put the Liberal-cancelled train back on the tracks, the NDP jumped on board Thursday.

In Kenora this week, Ford promised if the Progressive Conservaties win June 7 he’d restore the train from Toronto to Cochrane.

The train that ran through Muskoka shut down in 2012 after years of increasing operating subsidies and stagnant ridership numbers.

“It is time for real action, not more empty talk,” Ford said in a tweet on Thursday.

“I heard you loud and clear. You want the Northlander, and I will deliver it.”

Not to be undone, the NDP got onboard.

But Premier Kathleen Wynne, who put the brakes on the regular passenger rail service,  said Thursday there is “no business case” for its return.

She said the Ontario Northland Railway, which operated the Northlander, was losing money “hand over fist” when she ended its provincial subsidy.

“For a business guy, who purports to understand how these things work, he’s making a really irresponsible promise there,” Wynne said.