First Phase of High-Speed Rail Network Targets Key Urban Corridors
The first segment of the proposed Alto high-speed rail project will run between Montreal and Ottawa.
That’s according to Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, who spoke at a press conference in Gatineau, Que., on Friday.
The full project, if built, would move passengers between Quebec City and Toronto on trains travelling up to 300 kilometres per hour. The line would include stops in Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval and Trois Rivieres.
MacKinnon said the federal government chose that particular stretch in part because the route is relatively straight, adding trains can’t move as quickly on turns. He also said construction would begin in 2029.
“I want to linger on that point. Four years, Martin,” said the minister, turning to Alto CEO Martin Imbleau, earning a laugh in the room.
50,000 jobs, says minister
Asked why it would take four years to begin, the minister said consultations, land acquisitions and station planning pushed stakeholders to remain prudent in their timeline.
“If we can put shovels in the ground in 2028, we’ll do it,” he said.
Construction would come with 50,000 jobs in steel, concrete, electrical and digital work, MacKinnon added. There would also be opportunities for artists tasked with decorating the stations.
“The whole network will be defined and built by Canadians,” said Imbleau, who added that his staff are still in a consultation phase with landholders, Indigenous communities and residents to determine the final route of the line.
“This winter, it’s only the beginning of our conversation.”
Once the first stretch is completed, he quipped in French, a commuter could move between Montreal and Ottawa before he could drive from Montreal’s South Shore to downtown.
The government hopes the project, overall, will boost GDP by up to $35 billion.
Boon or ‘boondoggle?’
Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport Don Albas criticized the plan, writing on X that “taxpayers could be on the hook” for budget overruns and that the four-year timeline is not ambitious.
“Today the Liberals are giving themselves a blank cheque for a taxpayer-backed rail line with no price tag that will only benefit Liberal insiders.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a non-profit advocacy group, called the project “another costly taxpayer boondoggle.”
“Canadians need help paying for basics, they don’t need another massive bill from the government for a project that only benefits one corner of the country,” wrote the group’s federal director, Franco Terrazzano, in a news release.
Is Via up for the task?
Alto is a subsidiary of VIARail Canada Inc., the Crown corporation responsible for passenger rail services on behalf of the government. Alto was granted an operating and capital budget of $597.1 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Via made headlines this week after “serious mechanical issues” left passengers sitting overnight in Brockville, Ont., before arriving in Ottawa more than 12 hours late.
Asked about the episode Thursday, MacKinnon said he was “not happy at all” with the corporation’s response to the delay and said he plans to discuss it with Via.That being said, he added, when trains operate through Canadian winters, “there are going to be issues.”
He also said the Via routes between Quebec and Ontario will continue to operate once Alto is up and running.
This article was first reported by Bloomberg
