[lrt's friend]

The big advantage of the Peterborough route is that VIA will own it. Passenger trains will have absolute priority, therefore much fewer unexpected delays, and faster running trains. Adding track on the Lakeshore route will be exceedingly expensive and will almost certainly be owned by CN, which will allow for expansion of freight service at the continued expense of VIA. My understanding is that some track was already added on the Lakeshore route with no benefit to VIA service at all.