The following appeared in the December 11, 2009 edition of The Ottawa Citizen
OTTAWA — A group of consultants has been hired to do a feasibility study on a Chelsea station for the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield steam train.
The federal government will pay $206,550 of the study’s $275,400 cost. The study, to be completed by January 2010, will examine the impact of a proposed train station on the environment, local economy, drainage, water and sewer services and transportation.
Tim Kehoe, the study director, said the station could provide Chelsea with some economic benefit if passengers visit Old Chelsea shops and restaurants. Innovation Chelsea, a business group on Highway 105, has proposed locating a steam train station on a 50-acre site it owns that includes a medical clinic. Community Table Outaouais, a group that helps develop economic opportunities for West Quebec residents, is participating in the study.
Other groups contributing to the study include the Caisse Desjardins de Hull, the Centre local de développement des Collines-de-l’Outaouais, the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield Steam Train and Tourisme Outaouais.
Chelsea Mayor Caryl Green said the former passenger rail station north of Old Chelsea played an important role in the community until it closed during the 1960s. Green said it makes sense to study the proposal to build a steam train station at another site.
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