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Metrolinx’s board recently established a community advisory committee to help the agency study the electrification of GO Transit’s inter-regional transit-rail system.

The 16-member committee comprises people with expertise in transportation, environmental issues, engineering, health, urban planning, policy analysis, alternative energy, community leadership, business, finance, law and GO ridership. The committee will work with the board to define the study’s scope, and determine the benefits, impacts and costs associated with converting the system from conventional diesel to electric. The board expects to complete an electrification study by December 2010.

GO Transit operates as a division of Metrolinx, a province of Ontario crown agency. Metrolinx has developed a 25-year integrated transportation plan that recommends electrified express and regional rail as part of expanding rapid transit in the greater Toronto area.

"Electrification would require a major new investment by the province,” said Metrolinx President and Chief Executive Officer in a prepared statement. “We want to make sure the choices are properly framed in the context of our broader mandate to recommend the best possible investments to improve transportation, the environment, quality of life and the economy.”