Canada’s high-speed rail will start with Ottawa-Montreal line, minister says

The first phase of Canada’s proposed high-speed rail project will run between Ottawa and Montreal, federal Transport Minister Steven Mackinnon said on Friday.

The 200-kilometre stretch of the Alto High-Speed Rail corridor is only the first phase of a line that will eventually connect Toronto and Quebec City.

“The most logical option is the relatively short and straight portion of the overall route,” MacKinnon said.

“This provides an excellent opportunity for teams in both provinces to begin to develop together the expertise needed to deliver the other segments, both in Ontario and in Quebec.”

The high-speed rail network will prioritize ensuring passengers are able to get to the high-speed rail using public transit, Mackinnon said.

Construction on the first phase is expected to begin in four years, MacKinnon said, adding that this was “twice as fast as the original eight-year schedule.”

The next step in the project is holding consultations with communities along the rail route, which will be held both virtually and in person, Alto CEO Matthew Imbleau said.

Connections from Ottawa to Toronto, via Peterborough, and Montreal to Quebec City will begin construction later.

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The project is expected to generate 50,000 construction jobs and add $35 billion to Canada’s GDP, MacKinnon said.

The Alto High-Speed Rail project was announced by former prime minister Justin Trudeau in February last year and would see fully electric trains transport passengers along the highly trafficked rail corridor at speeds of 300 kilometres per hour along 1,000 kilometres of track.

The federal Liberals laid out plans for a new rail corridor in 2021, with Ottawa pegging the total cost between $6 billion and $12 billion.

The goal for the project was to get more passengers to their destinations more quickly than what is often seen onboard Via Rail, which operates on tracks owned largely by Canadian National Railway Co., which gives priority to freight trains. That has led to delays on the tracks along the corridor.