A revived train service in Ontario will make access to the province’s popular Muskoka region easier when it starts running later this year.
Testing of the new Northlander trains, which will run on a route from Toronto to Timmins, a journey of around 11 hours, is underway. The service, which will operate “four to seven days a week” depending on the season and demand, last operated in 2012.
The train will leave Toronto’s Union Station at 18.30 and will arrive in Muskoka’s cottage-country destinations Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Huntsville around two to three hours later.
After reaching Timmins, passengers can connect by rail to Cochrane, the northern terminus of the Northlander route. There is a proposed layover in Timmins of two hours 20 minutes on the northbound service.
From Cochrane, passengers can connect directly to the famous Polar Bear Express, which runs to Moosonee, a further 185 kilometres away, a journey of about five hours. Moosonee has no road connection to the rest of Ontario – you can reach it only by train or plane.
So in practice, you can travel: Toronto-Timmins-Cochrane-Moosonee, a journey of a little over 1,000 km.
“The Northlander gives us the opportunity to send people to Muskoka by train. They can leave Toronto at 18.30 and three hours later be in Muskoka,” said Destination Ontario’s Gabby Kotz.
“Visitors will be able to skip the traffic from Toronto to Muskoka, which can be hectic at times, particularly at the weekend.
“They can stop in Muskoka and catch the train again a couple of days later and continue heading north”.
For the Toronto–Timmins route, published launch fares list a standard one-way adult ticket from C$142.17 (approximately £75.50) if booked at least 96 hours in advance; C$157.97 (£83.89) if booked 48–96 hours ahead; C$173.77 (£92.27) if booked 12–48 hours ahead; and C$181.67 (£96.47) if booked less than 12 hours before departure.
destinationontario.com
