Disputed CN Rail hub in Milton gets go-ahead from federal court

There’s been a major development regarding the construction of a quarter-of-a-billion dollar rail hub in Milton.

The Federal court of appeal has ruled construction can proceed as planned, even though there has been some push-back from the community over environmental concerns.

CN Rail says the new transportation hub will meet the growing demand for the transportation of household goods across the GTHA.

Construction is well under way on the Milton Logistics hub and is expected to take approximately two years to complete.

While the project was approved by the federal government in 2021, some advocates are challenging it due to health concerns.

Stacey Newman from the “Milton Says No” group says, “the problem is that intermodal terminals are heavy industrial facilities and historically they have always been located in an area immediately adjacent to highways and away from residential – this location is neither of those things.”

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The location planned to house the new hub is in south Milton near Britannia and Tremaine roads and the project will continue as planned.

A three-judge panel found that a decision by the federal government to allow CN Rail to build the terminal was reasonable despite “adverse environmental effects.”

“With approximately 1,600 trucks in and out of the facility per day, the community would be exposed to diesel emissions and particulate matter that will exceed safe levels,” Newman rebuts.

But the major Canadian railway says the Milton logistics hub was approved after an extensive environmental review including an environmental assessment by an independent joint review panel, with 325 conditions designed to protect the community and the environment.

CN says the project will handle four intermodal trains per day. One intermodal train can transport the equivalent of more than 280 long-distance heavy trucks therefore removing millions of trucks from Canadian highways annually, according to the railway.

The mayor of Milton Gordon Krantz told CHCH News that he was disappointed with this decision and that “it’s not over yet.”

With files from the Canadian Press

READ MORE: Town of Milton upset over CN Rail’s Logistics Hub construction