Alto High Speed Rail

[rocketphish]

Montreal-Ottawa chosen as first leg of high-speed rail project
Federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon expected to make the announcement Friday: Radio-Canada

CBC News
Posted: Dec 12, 2025 7:28 AM EST | Last Updated: 25 minutes ago

The first segment of Canada's proposed high-speed rail network will connect Montreal and Ottawa, Radio-Canada has learned.

Federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon is expected to make the announcement this morning alongside Martin Imbleau, the CEO of Alto, the Crown corporation overseeing the project.

While the exact route hasn't been finalized, public consultations to determine the precise path are set to begin in January. Officials have already confirmed, however, that the line will include a stop in Laval, Que.

Groundbreaking for the project is scheduled for 2029.

The decision to start with the 200-kilometre stretch between Montreal and Ottawa comes down to geography, with it being the shortest and flatest section of the proposed corridor, sources told Radio-Canada.

Developers also wanted to launch the project with a segment that straddles the provincial border.

Construction on the remaining segments — connecting Quebec City to Montreal and Ottawa to Toronto — will begin at a later, unspecified date. However, environmental assessments and consultations for those legs would begin well before the first phase is complete.

Expropriations are expected to be part of the process.

It remains unclear when passengers will actually be able to board the first high-speed train. Sources suggest each segment could take seven to eight years to build.

The massive infrastructure project, estimated to cost between $60 billion and $90 billion, was originally launched by the Trudeau government last February. It is now a key plank in the Mark Carney government's infrastructure agenda.

The network aims to cut travel time between Montreal and Toronto to just three hours, down from the current five hours or more. The trip between Montreal and Quebec City would be reduced to approximately 90 minutes.

The announcement comes a day after dozens of Via Rail passengers travelling from Toronto to Ottawa were stranded for 12 hours overnight, after an earlier train broke down near Brockville, Ont.

The project is being managed by Alto, with construction awarded to the Cadence consortium. That group includes major players such as CDPQ Infra, AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin), Air Canada, and French rail operator SNCF Voyageurs.

Based on a report by Radio-Canada's Laurence Martin

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...real-9.7013138

[eltodesukane]

I would prefer new subway lines in Montreal and Ottawa,
rather than high speed rail between Montreal and Ottawa.
(same for Toronto)

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

I would prefer new subway lines in Montreal and Ottawa,
rather than high speed rail between Montreal and Ottawa.
(same for Toronto)

High speed rail will have a far bigger impact on the evolution and modernization of Canada as subway lines in individual cities. We'll finally catch-up with the late 20th century in terms of inter-city rail transportation. High speed rail will mean faster, far more reliable rail that will compete with air travel and be far quicker than car travel. It have a huge positive impact on the environment by removing short haul flights and potentially eliminate millions of cars trips each year.

We need to continue to build rapid transit of course. High speed rail shouldn't be competing with transit funding.

[urbanforest]

Could we/should we start a new thread for the HSR project? It will have a distinct alignment from what VIA uses and is being undertaken by a different entity after all.

[J.OT13]

• Video Link

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by urbanforest

Could we/should we start a new thread for the HSR project? It will have a distinct alignment from what VIA uses and is being undertaken by a different entity after all.

Good point. Thanks for the suggestion.

EDIT: started it with today's announcement. For posterity, credit to Justin Trudeau for getting the ball rolling on this transformative project.

[zzptichka]

Sorry, haven't been paying close attention, but do we know if it will use the existing train stations or it's more of a Barrhaven-Dorval kind of deal?

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by zzptichka

Sorry, haven't been paying close attention, but do we know if it will use the existing train stations or it's more of a Barrhaven-Dorval kind of deal?

We don't know for sure, no.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

High speed rail will have a far bigger impact on the evolution and modernization of Canada as subway lines in individual cities. We'll finally catch-up with the late 20th century in terms of inter-city rail transportation. High speed rail will mean faster, far more reliable rail that will compete with air travel and be far quicker than car travel. It have a huge positive impact on the environment by removing short haul flights and potentially eliminate millions of cars trips each year.

We need to continue to build rapid transit of course. High speed rail shouldn't be competing with transit funding.

This! I get tired of people saying, don't build this green technology, we should focus 100% of our resources on this other green technology instead. My response is, do both. There is merit in diversification.

It reminds me of cyclists, transit users and pedestrians all fighting amongst each other for the couple meters of road space that can be taken from cars.

One of the big excuses for people "needing" a car is so that they can travel to other cities. Building out a fast, frequent, reliable intercity rail network will reduce that "need."

[phil235]

Interesting note that they seem to be confirming that there will be a stop in Laval. Raises a few questions:

- how will they get there?
- does this mean no stop at Trudeau airport? (probably good for YOW, but not great for connectivity overall
- assuming they use part of the current right of way, does that mean that the line will be coming into Ottawa in the same general corridor to the current station? Seems longer.
- if so, how does it continue out of Ottawa towards Toronto?

I guess these things have yet to be determined, but it seems that some key decisions have already been made that will dictate what we ultimately get.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

I would prefer new subway lines in Montreal and Ottawa,
rather than high speed rail between Montreal and Ottawa.
(same for Toronto)

Nah. I want less federal funding for local transit. I am sick of the federal government funding subsidizing municipal stupidity. Force municipalities and provinces to pay for their own sprawl. Let the federal government focus on connecting regions and provinces.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by phil235

Interesting note that they seem to be confirming that there will be a stop in Laval. Raises a few questions:

- how will they get there?
- does this mean no stop at Trudeau airport? (probably good for YOW, but not great for connectivity overall
- assuming they use part of the current right of way, does that mean that the line will be coming into Ottawa in the same general corridor to the current station? Seems longer.
- if so, how does it continue out of Ottawa towards Toronto?

I guess these things have yet to be determined, but it seems that some key decisions have already been made that will dictate what we ultimately get.

There was ambiguity in the announcement. It's not sure if they are going from Ottawa to Montreal via Laval or Ottawa to Laval via Montreal. If the latter, then a Dorval stop is possible.

Not having a Dorval stop kinda sucks. Would have been huge for Ottawa travelers if there was easy air-rail integration there. And I would think having Air Canada in the consortium would have pushed things that way. But apparently not.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Truenorth00

There was ambiguity in the announcement. It's not sure if they are going from Ottawa to Montreal via Laval or Ottawa to Laval via Montreal. If the latter, then a Dorval stop is possible.

Not having a Dorval stop kinda sucks. Would have been huge for Ottawa travelers if there was easy air-rail integration there. And I would think having Air Canada in the consortium would have pushed things that way. But apparently not.

Yeah, that's a good point. I'd always assumed a south shore route, but I guess they could be considering going on the north side. There is still a big question as to how the train gets to Laval out of Montreal. Even if they opt for a TMR stop instead of downtown, Laval seems like a significant backtrack (at least if they are going for the central part of Laval and not something on the east side).

[daud]

Couple of comments:

Minister noted a commuter will get to montreal from ottawa faster than a commuter driving from the south shore to downtown. This stat is incredible and if stations are positioned well with good interurban transit links, a total game changer.

The announcement about a laval station is a bit concerning. I think this line should be as direct and fast as possible. What will the ultimate route be and how much time will be added by adding this laval station?

When I look at the configuration of highway 417, I can't help to think both provincial governments playing with the route probably added a good 15-20 minutes to that ride. up and down and up and down for reasons that were a bit short sighted imho.

This project is a good start to connecting our major cities and as such a nation building project (despite the limited geographical range)

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by daud

Couple of comments:

Minister noted a commuter will get to montreal from ottawa faster than a commuter driving from the south shore to downtown. This stat is incredible and if stations are positioned well with good interurban transit links, a total game changer.

The announcement about a laval station is a bit concerning. I think this line should be as direct and fast as possible. What will the ultimate route be and how much time will be added by adding this laval station?

When I look at the configuration of highway 417, I can't help to think both provincial governments playing with the route probably added a good 15-20 minutes to that ride. up and down and up and down for reasons that were a bit short sighted imho.

This project is a good start to connecting our major cities and as such a nation building project (despite the limited geographical range)

MTQ probably didn’t foresee MTO dipping the 417 down south when the former built A-40 along the old 17 (now QC-342).

[lrt's friend]

There is a lot we don't know yet. Another, how does VIA operate on the Ottawa-Montreal route during construction? Have they been considering the old CPR corridor to Rigaud? I thought that was abandoned early on

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by daud

Couple of comments:

Minister noted a commuter will get to montreal from ottawa faster than a commuter driving from the south shore to downtown. This stat is incredible and if stations are positioned well with good interurban transit links, a total game changer.

The announcement about a laval station is a bit concerning. I think this line should be as direct and fast as possible. What will the ultimate route be and how much time will be added by adding this laval station?

When I look at the configuration of highway 417, I can't help to think both provincial governments playing with the route probably added a good 15-20 minutes to that ride. up and down and up and down for reasons that were a bit short sighted imho.

This project is a good start to connecting our major cities and as such a nation building project (despite the limited geographical range)

I agree, we shouldn't be serving suburbs with high speed rail. The point is to get between major centres as quickly as possible, so Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. If we're serving mid-tier stand alone cities in between like Trois-Rivières and Peterborough, that's fine.

Suburbs should be better linked to the central cities and their HSR stations with rapid transit.

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by phil235

Yeah, that's a good point. I'd always assumed a south shore route, but I guess they could be considering going on the north side. There is still a big question as to how the train gets to Laval out of Montreal. Even if they opt for a TMR stop instead of downtown, Laval seems like a significant backtrack (at least if they are going for the central part of Laval and not something on the east side).

If you draw a straight line from Ottawa to Montreal, you will see that Laval isn't as much of a detour as one would think, and it avoids all of the congestion of CN's and CPCK's mainlines. You have to wonder how they plan to get passengers (if not trains) to Gare Central though.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

I agree, we shouldn't be serving suburbs with high speed rail. The point is to get between major centres as quickly as possible, so Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. If we're serving mid-tier stand alone cities in between like Trois-Rivières and Peterborough, that's fine.

Suburbs should be better linked to the central cities and their HSR stations with rapid transit.

Ideally, we should be serving downtown centres. But that's an ideal.

How many years and how many billions do you want to spend trying to move Ottawa's station from Tremblay to downtown or trying to reach downtown Montreal without the Mount Royal Tunnel? These guys are prioritizing getting shovels in the ground. We can fix our quibbles with this when we find the billions extra in 20 years.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by daud

Couple of comments:

Minister noted a commuter will get to montreal from ottawa faster than a commuter driving from the south shore to downtown. This stat is incredible and if stations are positioned well with good interurban transit links, a total game changer.

It really depends how much the per ride subsidy would be. Unless they are very high train tickets would be prohibitive for commuting.