Windsor's mayor is renewing calls to the province to ensure our region is included in the environmental assessment for high speed rail.

CTV News first reported about Drew Dilken’s concerns in December, and now he’s hoping to make an election issue of it.

"People talk about Ontario stopping at London, this is proof positive that Ontario would stop at London if high speed rail doesn't come past London," says Dilkens.

The latest document from the group conducting the environmental assessment indicates the Windsor to London corridor will be considered for high speed rail, only as demand develops.

Dilkens believes this statement will squash the possibility of high speed rail coming to Windsor.

“The commitment was there from the beginning to say you know what, Windsor's going to be included, and now that commitment has waffled,” says Dilkens. “It says Windsor's going to be included maybe, as a phase two, and maybe as the demand for high speed rail warrants, and for me, who's been around here for three and a half years, that's code words for this isn’t going to happen."

Dilkens admits it's not a profitable line, because there are fewer people and longer distances.

But the mayor wants to hear what candidates from other parties believe about the viability of high speed rail coming all the way to Windsor.

The first phase of the multi-million dollar project is to have the rail line operational from Toronto to London by 2025.

The initial proposal said the London to Windsor extension, which would include a stop in Chatham-Kent, is scheduled for 2031.

The Liberals say the proposed high speed rail service will cut people's travel times and create new opportunities for workers, businesses and residents.

The initial announcement in May 2017 said trains could reach speeds of 250 km/h between Kitchener and London, making that nearly 90-kilometre trip time out at 25 minutes.

The province says the private sector will have to help pay for the line. It will also be looking to the federal government for help.

Early estimates suggest the Toronto-to-London stretch of the line will have $4.1 billion in capital costs, with the capital costs of the London-to-Windsor stretch a further $3.4 billion. With other expenses and contingencies, the total cost climbs to approximately $20 billion.

The Liberal government has said construction on the high speed rail line “should ideally start by 2022.”