As the Ontario Northland train service resumes operation later this year, would-be travellers are looking for more information on the fare structure of the train.
Ontario Northland and the province announced the expected launch fares earlier this month with adult tickets ranging between about $50 to nearly $190 depending on the destination and timing of the booking.
“People are already thinking about how they’re going to access it,” said Lucille Frith, co-chair of the Northeastern Ontario Rail Network. She says there’s still a lot of information missing, like baggage fees and bulk discounts.
Ontario Northland also makes reference to other discounts such as for students.
“We don’t know the age of the student fee. I’m hoping it’s going to be up to 25 years of age,” Firth said.
Travelling for medical purposes
Passengers traveling for medical purposes are mentioned in the fair breakdown, but no details on the depth of the discount or criteria to qualify.
It’s important information to know for people like Frith, who travels every couple of weeks to the GTA as a companion with her husband who’s receiving medical care.
“He’s not able to travel on his his on his own. I have to go with him,” Frith said.
“I think they wanted to get something out there because people are clamoring for information,” said Marcia Yale, President of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians. Yale is also on the accessibility advisory committee for Ontario Northland.
She says she wasn’t expecting the finer details just yet.
“I don’t think that they’re going to be able to put out the final fees until they figure out the timing of everything and get the schedule finalized,” she said. “I still don’t think that they’re at the point where they can say that a trip from say Gravenhurst to Toronto is going to take 2 hours. They don’t know that yet.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) tells CityNews, “The anticipated fares at launch are approximately only 10 per cent above the standard rate of travel on the existing Ontario Northland bus service.”
The spokesperson also says passengers traveling for physician prescribed medical care may be eligible for a 15 per cent discount on published fares.”
The MTO says a complete fare schedule and ticketing platform will release closer to launch.
