Almost 140 years after the last spike was hammered into the Canadian Pacific Railway, the federal government has unveiled “the largest infrastructure project in Canadian history."
What happened: Canada is finally getting its first high-speed rail network. Dubbed Alto, the completed project will see electric passenger trains travelling between Toronto and Québec City at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour, nearly twice as fast as Via Rail’s trains.
- It will also stop in Peterborough, Ottawa, Trois-Rivières, Laval, and Montréal. A train voyage from Toronto to Montréal on the track will take only three hours.
- Construction will be led by a consortium called Cadence — including companies like AtkinsRéalis and Air Canada — which is expected to ink a contract in the coming weeks.
Why it matters: This project could mark a fresh start for rail in Canada, which has seen a decline in ridership as Via deals with persistent delays, often stemming from having to give way to freight trains. Alto, which will run on new, separate tracks, won’t face this issue.
- The freedom from freighters, plus super speeds, could reignite a love of trains and even stoke other projects — Alberta is already studying a Calgary-Edmonton link.
Bottom line: A train-ified future and the benefits it could bring (decreased traffic, heightened tourism) will depend on whether or not Alto turns into a costly quagmire. With an estimated decade-plus timeline and $80 billion price tag, there are plenty of chances to mess up.—QH