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Don’t rule out E&N line before praising light rail

Commuters want the train that ran between Nanaimo, Victoria back in action

Re: Review must lead to LRT referendum (Opinion, Nov. 9)

Only $1 billion to construct and run LRT from Langford to Victoria?

Where will the Capital Regional District get the $340 million? And what wishful thinking makes them believe that in the present looming recession, the provincial and federal governments would raid their depressed treasury to give such irrational largesse to a historically socialist south Vancouver Island?

We have the answer to our transit, highway and Malahat grief: I suggest that the E&N Railway be upgraded to run commuters from Nanaimo-Victoria-Nanaimo.

With the track renewed, we can take the dangerous, heavy trucks off the Malahat.

Think of the 2,000 daily commuters from Nanaimo-south and the thousands locked in the Colwood Crawl, all no longer having the daily frustration in their need to get to and from work.

A little imagination and effort to help ourselves utilize what we have would, no doubt, entice the senior governments to help us extend and upgrade the tracks.

Don Graham

Esquimalt