Sad farewell: Northlander makes its final run.

• Author: Cowan, Liz
• Position: NEWS

"When we laid our rail in 1902 In a land so bright and new It brought prosperity to people near and far ...

Something to sing about This line of ours" Something to Sing About, a song about the ONR written by R. Gervais, circa 1965

The rail tracks screech and groan as the Northlander leaves the Cochrane train station Sept. 28, shortly after 8 a.m., as it has done many times before. But this day is different. It's the last time the engine will pull out.

There's a group of photographers set up beyond the train to capture the departure for posterity and the people remaining on the platform wave to the passengers.

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Despite a previous rally inside the station and on the platform, led by impassioned Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis, there's an underlying air of melancholy and loss.

The Ontario government announced the divestment of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC) in March. Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci said while the business is good, the business model is not.

"Stagnant ridership, along with the ONTC's unsustainable financial path, are key factors in (the) announcement," he said.

While the operation of the Polar Bear Express is to be ensured, all rail freight and refurbishment assets, as well as Ontera telecommunications, are to be divested. The Northlander train between Toronto and Cochrane is to be replaced with an "enhanced" bus service. Ontario Northland bus services will be tendered to other operators. The ministry said since 2003, the government increased ONTC funding by 274 per cent. However, demand for services has stagnated. The subsidy on the Northlander train was $400 per passenger.

Ongoing protests and denouncements across the North couldn't sway the government to change its decree.

"When this country was young and new In nineteen 0 and two"

Cochrane resident Richard Warrell sits in silence as the train slips out of the station. He worked for the ONTC for 31 years in the town as a ticket clerk and has since retired. When asked how he feels about being on the last train, he said it is "kind of like a funeral."

He carefully takes out some photographs from an envelope which depict the intertwining of the rails with his life. Grandparents seeing a son off to war at the station, a younger self taking part in the Northlander's 25th anniversary, a sister and her friends posing on the platform.

"I'm here today for sentimental reasons," he says.

Many others are here for the...