The Orangeville Brampton Railway has been acquired for a new trail system in Peel

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News release: 15 July 2022

Brampton, ON. (July 15, 2022) – The Region of Peel, City of Brampton, Town of Caledon and City of Mississauga have completed the acquisition of approximately 51 km of the former Orangeville Brampton Railway corridor that runs from the Caledon-Orangeville border to just north of Streetsville.

The lands were purchased at a cost of $5.8 million, funded from the region’s Greenland’s Securement Program, and have been largely transferred to the local municipalities, which will manage the multi-year process of developing Earth’s future, from design to construction and ongoing maintenance.

The acquisition is an excellent example of partnership between the region and local municipalities, which will benefit the community’s health and well-being, support local business and become a significant regional tourism resource. It also provides a protected corridor for future utility needs.

In addition, the countries provide the opportunity to secure a strategic north-south connection of the Trans Canada Trail System.

Dignitaries from each of the municipal partners were present at a ribbon-cutting ceremony organized by the region to commemorate the acquisition.

The purchase of the corridor shows the value regional municipalities can add to unite local communities and facilitate connections. As a result of this partnership, these countries will help connect our regional community, supporting growth in a sustainable and responsible way.

Regional manager Nando Iannicca, Region of Peel

I applaud the Region of Peel for being the catalyst to bring this deal together, and my sincere gratitude to our municipal partners for buying into the vision that the City of Brampton brought forward five years ago. As we expand and improve our active transport networks, we make a difference in the lives of residents and set the stage for healthier, happier and more harmonious communities in the future.

Brampton Mayor, Patrick Brown

Caledon is a well-known trail community and the first community in Canada to have a pavilion on the Trans Canada Trailway. Our trails are the natural connections that bind our large rural and small urban communities together. This acquisition is particularly significant because it gives the city the opportunity to create a new north-south recreation trail that will travel through Caledon’s stunning scenic areas at the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. I look forward to the many benefits it will bring, including the ability to use the rail corridor for continued expansion of rural services such as broadband infrastructure.

Caledon Mayor, Allan Thompson

Finding new and innovative ways to transform surplus real estate and land is central to Mississauga’s plan to build more complete and livable communities for our residents. As we continue to develop into a world-class city, it is important that we prioritize accessible green spaces for our residents. These trails will offer a way to stay active year-round, promoting mental and physical well-being. The addition of this trail to the city’s already large network of more than 250 km of park trails will have a significant impact on our tourism industry by encouraging people from across the province to visit to enjoy the natural beauty we have right in our Garden.

Mississauga Mayor, Bonnie Crombie

This is an exciting day for the City of Orangeville, the Region of Peel and all those who support Active Transportation. The advent of intermodal transportation of goods has been developing in North America for many years. Short-line railways have become expensive and inefficient. The result is that rail lines across North America have been declared surplus – fueling an incredible North American wave of Rail to Trail conversions. Here in Canada, Le Petit Train du Nord is a 234 km bike path and multi-use path in the Laurentians. The Confederation Trail on Prince Edward Island is another incredible Rail to Trail conversion where Cafes, B’s and B’s welcome thousands of cyclists each year – and locally the Georgian Trail connects the towns of Collingwood, Thornbury and Meaford.

In 2019 I attended the Bike Ontario conference in Toronto. One of the speakers was Frank Hofmann – national chairman of the German National Cyclists’ Association. Mr. Hofmann told the conference that 800,000 tourists come to Germany every year to cycle. He described how a decision was made years ago to ensure there was a universal customer experience among cyclists. The idea was for cyclists to travel seamlessly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Track surfaces and signage will be the same across the country. This is an important concept as we jointly want to develop a new recreational trail in our region. As part of this, the City of Orangeville has approved $1,300,000 in our 2022 budget for rail to trail conversion within our boundaries. We know that good trail systems make for more lively cities.

The City of Orangeville knows this valuable infrastructure will be in good hands with our Region of Peel partners. Many thanks to the municipal employees, advisers and councilors who were involved in this process. We must call on our provincial and federal governments to help us turn this resource into a world-class tourism resource.

Orangeville Mayor Sandy Brown

Media contact

Gloria Leonardis

Communications specialist, transport and planning departments

Region of Peel

The Region of Peel works with residents and partners to create a healthy, safe and connected Community for Life for approximately 1.5 million people and over 175,000 businesses in the cities of Brampton and Mississauga and the city of Caledon. Peel’s services touch residents’ lives every day. For more information about the Region of Peel, explore peelregion.ca and follow us on Twitter @regionofpeel and Instagram @peelregion.ca.

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