Trudeau to announce high-speed rail between Quebec City and Toronto

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to reveal more details Wednesday morning of his government’s plan to connect Quebec City and Toronto with a high-speed rail line, Radio-Canada has learned.

Trudeau is expected to make the official announcement this morning at 9 a.m., during a press conference in Montreal with Transport Minister Anita Anand.

The consortium selected to build the line was only informed in the last 24 hours that their bid was the best of the three submitted, according to sources that spoke to Radio-Canada.

As Radio-Canada first reported in October, the Liberal government had opted for a high-speed train rather than a slower high-frequency train project to transport passengers between Quebec City and Toronto.

Proponents of the project hope the train will take passengers from Montreal to Toronto in three hours. By car, it takes about five and a half hours.

Sources told Radio-Canada in October that the train will travel 300 kilometres per hour — double the speed of Via Rail’s current trains.

The train is expected to use a newly built, separate electrified track and run frequently. In addition to Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto, it would serve Trois-Rivières, Laval, Ottawa and Peterborough.

Transport Canada initially estimated that the cost of a high-speed rail link between the two cities could be as high as $80 billion.

It’s expected to take four to five years to design the future high-speed line. Funds are to be allocated at the end of that time period, so it’s possible a future government could modify or cancel the project.

This article is republished from RCI.