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5/19/2025
Ontario government officials have introduced in the province's 2025 budget a tax credit for short lines that invest in track maintenance and rehabilitation projects.
The measure calls for a 50% refundable corporate income tax credit for qualifying short lines' eligible track maintenance and rehab projects in Ontario. The tax credit would provide the province's short-line industry with an estimated C$23 million in income tax support over three years.
Short lines are often the first link in Canada's supply chain, moving C$7 billion worth of goods each year, according to the Railway Association of Canada (RAC).
"A tax credit will help enable infrastructure upgrades, unlock new business opportunities, and support communities,” said RAC President and CEO Eric Harvey in a press release. “This is especially important in regions where industry is growing and increasingly looking to rail.”
In Ontario, every dollar invested through the tax credit is projected to generate C$10.58 in economic output, according to RAC. There are over 621 miles of short-line tracks in Ontario.