Ottawa Gives Green Light to High Speed Rail Project Connecting Toronto and Quebec City

October 29, 2024 TruthUSA

Ottawa will unveil plans for a high-speed train service that will connect Quebec City and Toronto in the near future, government sources say.

The train will travel 300 kilometres per hour, doubling the speed of Via Rail’s current trains, and will have stops in southern Ontario and Quebec, sources told CBC Radio-Canada.

The goal of the service is to cut down traffic congestion by offering drivers a quicker route to their destination, the unnamed sources said. For instance, a trip from Toronto to Montreal would be three hours, saving drivers a five-and-a-half hour journey by car.

The federal government announced plans in 2021 to construct a “high-frequency” (HFR) rail corridor with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City.

The Toronto-Quebec City link will be designated as a high-speed line, the sources say. The train will operate on a newly constructed, dedicated electrified line and will run at regular intervals.

The service will have stops in Toronto, Montreal, and Quebec City, as well as Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, and Trois-Rivières.

A winning bidder has been chosen by Ottawa from a pool of three competing consortia and an official announcement about the project can be expected in the next few weeks, the sources say.

The Epoch Times contacted the office of Transport Minister Anita Anand for comment, but did not receive a response prior to publication.

Anand confirmed the government would be moving ahead with one of the three bids it has received for high frequency and high speed rail during a speech at the 18th Toronto Global Forum earlier this month.

“Each of those three bids that we have received from experts, internationally renowned experts in rail, contemplate high speed and high frequency rail,” she told the audience. “Those bids are under consideration now, and a decision will be made about the future for this country.”

She also described rail as a key component to Canada’s productivity. She said it would “improve efficiency,” lower carbon emissions, and allow for “more housing to be built on these rail lines.”

The three consortia that pre-qualified in the fall of 2023 to bid on the project submitted their proposals in July, according to a VIA HFR timeline for the project.

Ottawa announced the creation of VIA HFR, a Crown corporation that reports directly to Parliament through the minister of transport in December 2022. VIA HFR’s sole purpose is to get the high frequency rail project up and running.

A source connected to the project reportedly said the bidding consortia told the government of the potential for decreased ridership with a high-frequency train compared to a high-speed train because passengers want the shortest possible travel time. The consortia reportedly told the government that expenses associated with a high-speed rail option were considerably lower than the initially expected $80 billion.

The three consortia chosen by Ottawa to bid on the project are: Cadence, Intercity Rail Developers, and Partenaires Ferroviaires QCONNEXION Rail Partners.

Cadence is made up of CDPQ Infra, AtkinsRéalis, Systra Canada, Keolis Canada, Air Canada, and SNCF Voyageurs S.A.

Intercity Rail Developers includes Intercity Development Partners, Kilmer Transportation, First Rail Holdings, Jacobs, Hatch, CIMA+, RATP Dev Canada, First Group, Renfe Operadora, Meridiam, and DF Canada Infrastructure Group Inc.

Partenaires Ferroviaires QCONNEXION Rail Partners is made up of Fengate, John Laing, Bechtel, WSP, and Deutsche Bahn.

While it’s not yet clear which consortium has been awarded the tender, the project will be developed in partnership with the federal government. Sources say designs for the lines will take up to five years to complete and funds will not be allocated toward construction until that time.

The projected timeline means a future government could alter the project or terminate it altogether.

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