WATERLOO REGION — The provincial government has shelved a proposed freight bypass that was considered critical for achieving full two-way, all-day passenger GO train service to Waterloo Region.

During an announcement Monday at the Kitchener train station to unveil an additional morning and evening GO train between Kitchener and Toronto, Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek said the government is "doing this without building a costly freight rail bypass that would take years to complete."

Yurek's press secretary confirmed the government's intention to shelve the plan in an email statement to the Record.

"The freight bypass was one option under consideration to separate freight and passenger rail to bring more service to Kitchener," said Andrew Buttigieg. "Through ongoing work with CN, we have been able to come to agreements that allow passenger and freight to operate in parallel and allow us to significantly accelerate service improvements to these areas."

The government has not indicated what those alternative agreements might be, or how they might help achieve two-way, all-day service. There was also no public announcement before the minister's visit indicating they were no longer pursuing the bypass option.

And it has led to more questions than answers for two-way, all-day advocates in the region.

"The biggest concern is this is happening in a black box," Waterloo NDP MPP Catherine Fife said Tuesday. She added that the freight bypass was a "pivotal" component of two-way, all day service.

"There's no transparency or consultation on walking back the freight bypass."

A feasibility study from engineering consultant IBI Group found shifting freight trains to a dedicated, 30-kilometre section of track would help open up two-way, all-day service between Toronto's Union Station and Kitchener, as well as increased GO service to Cambridge.

Yurek wouldn't commit to a firm timeline on the implementation of two-way, all-day GO service Monday, saying he hoped to make another announcement in 12 to 18 months and that the government is "speeding up" negotiations with CN.

Metrolinx was working on a feasibility study for the bypass as early as last year, and an agreement in principle with CN Rail for the bypass had already been reached, with 2024 as the goal for implementation of full two-way, all-day service.

A 2017 Metrolinx planning update outlined what it would take to build the freight bypass, which would allow passenger trains to use the existing rail currently owned by CN that runs between Georgetown and Bramalea.

The plan included up to 35 new bridges for road and water crossings, modification and/or relocation of up to 17 hydro towers and as much as 3.4 kilometres of major gas line relocations, the construction of 60 kilometres of new track (two 30-kilometre tracks) plus a new signal system, and the construction of a new rail/rail grade separation where the Kitchener line would cross the bypass corridor.

The future electrification of the line is also now in question as Metrolinx can only electrify corridors it owns. The Kitchener line west of Bramalea can only be electrified once the new corridor is built, the agency reported in its 2017 update.

The estimated cost of the bypass was about $2.25 billion.

In an emailed statement to the Record, Metrolinx said the enhanced partnership with CN "enables better coordination of operations and schedules to ensure there are no conflicts between passenger and freight trains around key areas of the network."

The Tri-Cities Transport Action Group is concerned what this all might mean for future service to the region.

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"Serious structural bottlenecks impede the introduction of two-way, all-day GO service," said spokesperson Mike Boos, adding that "it's not apparent yet if this government is willing to make other infrastructure investments to resolve it another way, like to add rail lanes to the CN corridor or pay CN to use more of its mainline bandwidth through Brampton."

Monday's announcement was for a new morning commuter train leaving Kitchener at 5:40 a.m. and another evening train that leaves Union Station at 3:35 p.m. and arrives in Kitchener about two hours later. The service begins operation Jan. 7 and will cost about $1.1 million. It brings total commuter service up to five morning and five evening trains.