The Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains (CAPT) announces  All Aboard! To save ACR Passenger Train. This is a series of 3 Town Hall Meetings/ Media Events with a train trip on the ACR between the Wawa and Hearst meetings.

Guest speaker, Harry Gow, transportation expert and founding president of Transport Action Canada, will be able to enlighten us about efforts elsewhere in the country to stop rail cuts.

The three meeting event will take place as follows:

• Sault Ste. Marie Town Hall Meeting: Wed. Feb. 19, 2014 at 7:30 pm in the Civic Centre
• Wawa Town Hall Meeting:                 Thurs. Feb. 20 at 10:00 am in the Michipicoten Memorial Community Centre
• Hearst Town Hall Meeting:                Thurs. Feb. 20 at 8:00 pm in the Companion Hotel

Following the Sault Ste. Marie meeting, the next morning (Thursday) the guest speaker and CAPT supporters will drive to Wawa.  Following the Wawa meeting a delegation will have lunch at the Big Bear Restaurant in Hawk Junction and board the train to Hearst for the 8:00 pm meeting there. On the morning of Friday, Feb. 21 the delegation will return by train.  All are invited to join us for any of the meetings and for the train trips on the 20^th and 21^st.  We extend a particular invitation to the media to be present for this series of meetings and train trips.

The town hall meetings will provide an opportunity for the public to express their concerns about the devastating effects that the announced termination of the ACR passenger train service will have on the region’s tourism, on local businesses, on population retention, on the future of transportation in our region, on the environment, on people’s access to regional health care and postsecondary institutions to name only a few.

All Aboard! To save the ACR Passenger Train provides a perfect opportunity for the media to hear the full extent of the impacts that this decision will have on our region and to hear the evidence that the decision was made with clearly false information about supposed alternative transportation to the areas serviced by the ACR.

For further information please contact:

Linda Savory Gordon               705 943 0971   linda.savory-gordon@algomau.ca

Al Errington                             705 946 2010  al@wildernessisland.com

Marie Price                             705 736 2365  cora-marieprice@gmail.com

Lori Johnson (Wawa)              705 856 2244 ext 2241  ljohnson@wawa.cc

Sylvie Fontaine (Hearst)          705 372 2837 sfontaine@hearst.ca

The following are resources for people concerned about the recent announcement of the cancellation of passenger service in Canada.

National Association of Railroad Passenger (NARP) Vice Chairman John DeLora has been monitoring news about the recently announced cancellation of passenger rail service between Sault Ste. Marie Ontario and Hearse Ontario. NARP had sent the Canadian ambassador a letter protesting the cancellation. Here’s DeLora’s round-up of related Canadian news:

Maritimes could lose all service
http://www.wawa-news.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19722:via-cuts-could-see-quebec-maritimes-lose-all-passenger-rail-service&catid=41:news&Itemid=201

Canada MOT cuts threaten all of VIA. A poll has shown that Canadian passenger train service has shrunk so far that the public no longer supports VIA continuing as a Crown Corporation.
http://www.citynews.ca/2014/01/30/canadians-in-favour-of-privatizing-crown-corporations-poll/

Stakeholders organizing to fight Algoma Central cut
http://www.saultstar.com/2014/01/30/stakeholders-organizing-to-fight-government-cut-to-rail-line