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
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