The CEO of a planned high-speed rail project between Toronto and Quebec City says construction on the eastern and western parts of the line is expected to begin by 2032. Construction of the first phase, set to kick off in 2029 or 2030, would link Montreal and Ottawa and act as a test case for a multibillion-dollar infrastructure project intended to transform rail travel in Canada’s most densely populated region.
Following a speech in Montreal on Tuesday, Martin Imbleau told reporters the portions connecting the two provincial capitals will likely start to be built two years after shovels hit the ground on an earlier segment, and added, “Construction of the western part and eastern part will start probably a couple of years after the initial construction period.”
He declined to specify which of the two stretches – Toronto-Ottawa and Montreal-Quebec City – might begin first. Engineering work on them is slated to start during construction of the 200-km Montreal-Ottawa track, he said.
The Crown corporation, dubbed Alto, aims to have stations near the heart of downtown in both Toronto and Montreal, with Union Station and Central Station under consideration, respectively, Imbleau said.
“The mandate is very specific and the intent is to go downtown,” he said. But the precise locations remain “tricky to envisage,” he added.
The proposed 1,000-km network would see trains running on dedicated tracks at speeds of up to 300 kph, slashing current travel times. It would make for a three-hour trip between the country’s two largest cities and less than one hour between Montreal and Ottawa.
A three-month public consultation is set to kick off later this month.
The high-speed rail project was first announced by then-prime minister Justin Trudeau in February. In September, his successor Mark Carney announced the government’s new major projects office would speed up engineering and regulatory work on the railway to get construction underway within four years.
Imbleau’s mention of 2030 as a possible start date, rather than 2029, marks a slight adjustment to the initial timeline for construction.
He stressed that “conviction” was his biggest challenge. “Let’s stay laser-focused on making this happen. Focus on the first segment, start construction, learn and deploy with more agility going east and going west,” he said.
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