u.s. ready for windsor-detroit passenger rail, but canada funding remains off track
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travellers are shown at the via station on york street in downtown london on sunday july 9, 2023. (free press file photo)
the americans are ready to roll, but mayor drew dilkens says lack of support from the canadian government is derailing long-awaited plans to establish passenger train service between windsor and detroit.
“michigan is fully funded to operationalize the amtrak connection at michigan central,” said dilkens. “we need to secure funding on our side to be able to connect with amtrak and process passengers at a new customs facility at the via station on walker road.”
mayors from across southwestern ontario are renewing their push for better regional passenger rail and transportation connections after a recent meeting.
high-frequency passenger rail between toronto and windsor, a cross-border rail connection to detroit and beyond, and improved intra- and intercity transit are among the coalition’s requests to the federal and provincial governments.
indsor mayor drew dilkens speaks during a press conference at the new transit windsor west end terminal on tuesday, july 21, 2026.
dan janisse
the mayors met virtually last week after launching the campaign alongside u.s. politicians at london city hall in june.
dilkens said he could not attend the meeting last week, but he supports the group’s efforts.
“our request supports better passenger rail service between windsor, london and toronto with connections to the future alto high-speed service from toronto onwards,” he said. “this is an exciting opportunity that i fear will be lost without support from our federal partners.”
london mayor josh morgan said the coalition has grown beyond municipal leaders to include education sector leaders, chambers of commerce, tourism organizations and economic development groups.
“the coalition of partners interested in improved rail access and frequency across southwestern ontario has grown dramatically,” he said. “what we did was we came together . . . and we formulated an evolution of our advocacy position to represent the broadened coalition, and that includes some clear asks, specifically in the upcoming federal budget.”
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many of the priorities remain the same, morgan said.
a via rail train arrives at the walkerville station in windsor on friday, january 14, 2022.
dax melmer
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windsor star
the proposed $47-million border services building at via rail’s windsor station would allow passengers to transfer between via rail and amtrak, with the u.s.-side components already budgeted.
rail improvements between windsor and toronto, including track upgrades, additional sidings and giving passenger trains priority over freight traffic, would also improve the reliability of via service, he said.
“there’s obviously some longer-term investments here, but we continue to have access to the experts, to our friends at via rail, our friends at amtrak, and of course our american partners who see great value in . . . the ability to move people back and forth between our countries for tourism, commerce and academic research,” morgan said.
while some of the rail improvements are a federal ask, queen’s park has also been lending its support to the ideas, recognizing the important of the region.
the renewed advocacy comes as the provincial government advances several transportation projects in southwestern ontario, including restoring go train service to stratford, moving forward on the twinning of highway 3 through st. thomas to the powerco site and building the highway 4 talbotville bypass between highways 3 and 401.
during a groundbreaking announcement for the highway 3 expansion last week, transportation minister prabmeet sarkaria was asked about expanded transit options for workers travelling to the st. thomas powerco plant and related industrial developments.
while highlighting provincial funding for middlesex county connect and the go train expansion to stratford, sarkaria hinted additional go transit service for the region remains under consideration.
“we’ll continue to look at other options around go to support the communities here, whether it’s through go buses or other options,” he said. “minister rob flack and i often have the conversation around how we continue to build upon different modes of transportation around here.”
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morgan said he has not been involved in any go transit discussions, but whether through via rail, middlesex county connect or go transit, the region has consistently advocated for a more integrated transportation network.
“an integrated mobility network across southwestern ontario is not a stretch ask because there has been a lot of work in government done on it. we just need to take it forward to the execution phase,” he said.
as for road infrastructure, morgan said the province committed to improvements to support the powerco project and views the highway 3 expansion as part of that commitment.
he believes the work could pave the way for broader discussions about returning highbury avenue to provincial highway status, creating a more direct connection between london and the powerco site.
“these things don’t happen overnight, right? uploading a municipal asset to another level of government, especially one that’s owned by multiple municipalities, takes a little bit of time and discussion,” morgan said.
the city of london hopes to meet with provincial and federal ministers during the association of municipalities of ontario conference in ottawa in mid-august.
ministry of transportation spokesperson julia caslin highlighted the government’s expansion of go train service to stratford but did not address sarkaria’s press conference remarks or the regional mayors’ transportation campaign.
“ontario is making historic investments to improve transportation options and strengthen connections between communities across the province,” caslin said in a statement.
flack, the london-area mpp and minister of municipal affairs, was unavailable for comment.
— with files from jack moulton
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