Special to Ottawa Construction News
Work on a test phase preceding the planned construction of high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City is to begin in 2029 or 2030, says the CEO of Alto, the federal Crown corporation managing the project.
Martin Imbleau told reporters in Montreal that the first 200-kilometre phase will connect Montreal and Ottawa and function as a test case for construction on the eastern and western parts of the Toronto to Quebec City project that is slated to begin by 2032.
Engineering work on the Toronto-Ottawa and Montreal-Quebec City tracks is to begin during construction of the Montreal-Ottawa route.
“Construction of the western part and eastern part will start probably a couple of years after the initial construction period,” Imbleau said.
Prime Minister Carney has said the Liberal government’s new major projects office would fast-track engineering and regulatory work to get construction underway within four years. Imbleau said some expropriations will be necessary but did not provide details.
The Crown corporation plans stations for Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Montreal, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City.
In a speech at the Montreal Chamber of Commerce, Imbleau cited the challenges an “intense urban environment” poses to a railway that would see up to 72 trains per day traversing a 1,000-kilometre corridor on electric tracks at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour.
The network would cut travels times to make for a trip of less than one hour between Montreal and Ottawa.
Alto estimates project costs at between $60 billion and $90 billion, though Ottawa has not made a final funding approval decision.
A three-month public consultation is set to begin this month and continue through March, including an Indigenous consultation that has already commenced.
