London's slice in 2018 budget includes high speed rail, health care beds

The Ontario Liberals unveiled on Wednesday plans to commit big bucks in London and the southwest as part of the pre-election budget.

Several commitments were revealed in the run up to budget day ahead of the June election.

Here's what's in store for London if the Liberals are elected.

High speed rail

The Ontario Liberal government iscommittingabout $11 billion tosupport construction of a high speed rail network connecting cities between Toronto and Windsor.

• Liberals' $11B pledge for high speed rail highlights longlist of major infrastructure promises

The first phase of the project will builda line from Toronto to London. It's slated to reduce travel time by 60 percent.

"This will be of benefit of Londoners both for the use and economic spin off," said coun. Virginia Ridley.

"It still has a lot of process to go through but there are a lot of potential benefits so I'm glad to see it's moving in the right direction and getting that financial commitment to start moving forward."

The project would include seven other stops includingWindsor, Chatham and Kitchener.

The Liberals committed $182 billion to overall infrastructure projects over the next 10 years which they say willproduce about 140,000 jobs per year.

Bus rapid transit

The Ontario Liberals announced in January a commitment of up to $170 million for the city's bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

• London getting $170M from province for rapid transit

Dubbed SHIFT, the line will run about 24 km through London. It will cost about $500 million, with the city pouring in about $130 million.

Health care

The Liberals previously announced an additional 50 long-term care beds at the city's Elmwood Place. It would raise the number of hospital beds to 128.

The Liberals proposed an expansion of inpatient and outpatient clinics to increase access to the stem cell transplant program at the London Health Sciences Centre.

• Take a tour of London's Temporary Overdose Prevention Site

The budget highlighted the city's first temporary overdose prevention site with a commitment to invest more than $222 million in overdose prevention across the province.

Community justice hub

A community hub that helps people entering the criminal justice system between the ages 18 and 25 is slated for London. It would be called the Youth-in-Transition Community Justice Hub.

Community Justice Centres provide on-site assistance services that connect inmates to housing, education, job and mental health and addiction supports.

More for seniors

The Wynne government promisesto invest $6 million over three years as part of a strategy to help seniors gain access to supports.

The London Arts Council is set to facilitate programs such as drama, dance and music for seniors and older adults with dementia. Staff will come up with a tool kit so other organizations can use it as a foundation to build similar programs.