Alto High Speed Rail

[Kitchissippi]

My guess is that they would probably use Tremblay for the first phase and possibly rethink when the Toronto segment is built. As nice as Tremblay is, it’s really inefficient for processing passengers and would need extensive redesign. It’s already pretty bad with just the regular VIA trains. If you’re aiming for a 3 hour Toronto-Montreal you can’t waste 30 minutes snaking through slow track and inefficient boarding procedures in an outdated station. The HSR stations I’ve been to in China are built like airports with ample pre- hand post-processing waiting areas.

I know a lot of people hate the idea but I would love to see HSR seamlessly integrated into the airport and then extend Line 4 into a Bank Street subway to Gatineau If HSR skips Dorval and Pearson, it could even give YOW a unique advantage as an alternative hub for international flights.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

My guess is that they would probably use Tremblay for the first phase and possibly rethink when the Toronto segment is built. As nice as Tremblay is, it’s really inefficient for processing passengers and would need extensive redesign. It’s already pretty bad with just the regular VIA trains. If you’re aiming for a 3 hour Toronto-Montreal you can’t waste 30 minutes snaking through slow track and inefficient boarding procedures in an outdated station. The HSR stations I’ve been to in China are built like airports with ample pre- hand post-processing waiting areas.

I know a lot of people hate the idea but I would love to see HSR seamlessly integrated into the airport and then extend Line 4 into a Bank Street subway to Gatineau If HSR skips Dorval and Pearson, it could even give YOW a unique advantage as an alternative hub for international flights.

I get the issue with the slow track approaching and leaving the station, particularly heading west, but not really seeing an issue with the station itself. If it's to host Via and HSR, the waiting areas would likely need to be expanded, but otherwise it looks to me like it would work fine. It's got more space than the majority of HSR stations I've seen in Europe, where you typically have a relatively modest waiting area and 4 tracks, plus a bridge (which is no better than our tunnel). There is also quite a bit of space for retail and services that appears unused Other than enhanced waiting areas and a few more amenities, what would it need?

[roger1818]

Originally Posted by phil235

I get the issue with the slow track approaching and leaving the station, particularly heading west, but not really seeing an issue with the station itself. If it's to host Via and HSR, the waiting areas would likely need to be expanded, but otherwise it looks to me like it would work fine. It's got more space than the majority of HSR stations I've seen in Europe, where you typically have a relatively modest waiting area and 4 tracks, plus a bridge (which is no better than our tunnel). There is also quite a bit of space for retail and services that appears unused Other than enhanced waiting areas and a few more amenities, what would it need?

I agree. Completing phase Ib (and phase II) of the station upgrade should help relieve the congestion issues. Wider high platforms would allow passengers to wait on the platform and allow for level boarding. Granted on particularly cold or hot days, people may not want to wait on the platform.

[Kitchissippi]

Having open air HSR platforms would be a joke in this climate .You’d end up with the same situation as our LRT stations and filthy trains in the winter. HSR stations in tropical locations like Laos and Indonesia are even covered.

I would also bet there will be a bit more security measures involved, not quite airport level but more similar to going into the Parliament Visitors Centre where you walk through a metal detector and have baggage scanned. While you can’t hijack a train, a higher profile facility sadly makes it a potential target for terrorism. Ideally you’d want a comfortable post security waiting lounge with seating, washrooms and possibly a cafe. The only way I could see them achieving this at Tremblay is to build an elevated concourse that covers the tracks at the same time, but that’s almost like building a brand new station.

[BanjoUnchained]

Originally Posted by phil235

I get the issue with the slow track approaching and leaving the station, particularly heading west, but not really seeing an issue with the station itself. If it's to host Via and HSR, the waiting areas would likely need to be expanded, but otherwise it looks to me like it would work fine. It's got more space than the majority of HSR stations I've seen in Europe, where you typically have a relatively modest waiting area and 4 tracks, plus a bridge (which is no better than our tunnel). There is also quite a bit of space for retail and services that appears unused Other than enhanced waiting areas and a few more amenities, what would it need?

I'm pretty sure VIA owns land south of the rails along Terminal road, which could allow for an expanded station and enclosed platforms

[YOWetal]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Having open air HSR platforms would be a joke in this climate .You’d end up with the same situation as our LRT stations and filthy trains in the winter. HSR stations in tropical locations like Laos and Indonesia are even covered.

I would also bet there will be a bit more security measures involved, not quite airport level but more similar to going into the Parliament Visitors Centre where you walk through a metal detector and have baggage scanned. While you can’t hijack a train, a higher profile facility sadly makes it a potential target for terrorism. Ideally you’d want a comfortable post security waiting lounge with seating, washrooms and possibly a cafe. The only way I could see them achieving this at Tremblay is to build an elevated concourse that covers the tracks at the same time, but that’s almost like building a brand new station.

The Eurostar train has this though that's about customs as much as security. China has checks but their distances are longer. But most other HSR you can show up 10 minutes before and walk right on the train.
If you have to clear a bunch of security and thus budget an hour before for Ottawa to Montreal it is going to defeat a lot of the benefits.

[Richard Eade]

I agree. If High-Speed Rail (HSR) is to succeed, it has to be almost like taking a bus – but not like Ottawa’s random public transit bus service. It needs to be like it is in, say, Italy, where I just arrived at the station, scanned my ticket to get to the platform, and waited a couple of minutes for the train to pull in. It was as easy as boarding an inter-city bus was; back in the days of the Catherine St. Bus Station.

That said, this is a different time and place. ALTO will be Canada’s FIRST (and only) HSR, and, thus, it could become a terrorist target just for that reason. And, of course, VIA Rail has been working for a while to make passenger train travel seem more like taking an airplane. At Ottawa Station, VIA has been holding people back from the platform in long queues; and more generally, implementing restrictions on the number of pieces of luggage, and even their weight.

(I liked my Amtrak experience better than VIA for the fact that I just dropped my suitcase at the Baggage desk and it was transported in a baggage car to the platform at my destination. It was SUPER fast and easy. I didn’t like that, even being an hour from the start of the route, the train was 5 hours late arriving – but that is a different problem. At least VIA Rail is usually less late.)

Air Canada’s involvement in ALTO is a bit worrying for me. Air Canada’s experience in the travel industry is in making travel as cumbersome and unpleasant as possible. And I’m expecting that it will add those special touches to the design of ALTO, and how it is accessed.

(I recently returned from a long trip involving flights on Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Emirates, and Air Canada. As a Canadian, I had usually flown Air Canada and had accepted that air travel was just uncomfortable (to say the least). What an eye-opener to travel on those other airlines. When I finally got onto my last flight – Air Canada, AC889, from London to Ottawa – it was like being hit in the face with a wet cod. The look and feel of the Air Canada plane was, well, embarrassing. And why could I sit for a 14-hour flight on Etihad and feel OK on arrival; while after an hour in an Air Canada seat, my butt and back were really complaining. And I could only move like a crippled, hunch-back as I painfully made my way to Arrivals, after the 7-hour flight to Ottawa. In fairness, the staff on the Air Canada flight was good. There was just no comparison on all of the other aspects.)

I am excited that Canada will finally get a High-Speed Rail line, but my enthusiasm is tempered by the fear that it will be turned into something that is low frequency, slower-than-promised, onerous to take, too expensive for what it provides, and look and feel like the cheapest possible option.

[Richard Eade]

Here’s a serious question:

What about having a station at, say, Bells Corners or Wesley Clover Park, and then crossing over to the Quebec side with the main station in downtown Gatineau, around Place du Portage?

• This would maintain a west-end station;
• Would push the train through the Federally-owned Greenbelt;
• Put a ‘downtown’ station closer to the Parliament Buildings than any other option; and
• There might be less interference along the north shore of the Ottawa River than through Ontario.

If money permitted, they could also fund a subway (maybe wide enough for pedestrians and train between PdP and Sparks) from that ‘downtown’ station under the river and continue it under Bank Street.

PS Build the west-end river crossing for traffic also, so that there is a more westerly vehicle crossing.

[lrt's friend]

The only reason why Air Canada has become so bad is the influence of American competition. It has become a spiral downward since American deregulation. I always wonder when this will hit rock bottom but they keep finding ways to make the experience more unpleasant. But, we get what we deserve as most demand the lowest possible price. Go ahead, wear three sets of underwear, two shirts and pants to avoid the ever increasing luggage fees.

An impossible dream is to go to the station, hop on train in 15 minutes without a previously paid ticket and pay a reasonable fare. This will demand surplus seating but will guarantee maximum switch to rail. Pay attention to European and Asian train models and keep away from airline models. If they make it unpleasant and expensive, people will continue to use cars.

If the stations are in Bells Corners and on the Quebec side, I will not use rail. Besides, how can we get agreement on a new Ottawa River bridge anywhere in this city?

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

Air Canada’s involvement in ALTO is a bit worrying for me. Air Canada’s experience in the travel industry is in making travel as cumbersome and unpleasant as possible. And I’m expecting that it will add those special touches to the design of ALTO, and how it is accessed.

(I recently returned from a long trip involving flights on Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Emirates, and Air Canada. As a Canadian, I had usually flown Air Canada and had accepted that air travel was just uncomfortable (to say the least). What an eye-opener to travel on those other airlines. When I finally got onto my last flight – Air Canada, AC889, from London to Ottawa – it was like being hit in the face with a wet cod. The look and feel of the Air Canada plane was, well, embarrassing. And why could I sit for a 14-hour flight on Etihad and feel OK on arrival; while after an hour in an Air Canada seat, my butt and back were really complaining. And I could only move like a crippled, hunch-back as I painfully made my way to Arrivals, after the 7-hour flight to Ottawa. In fairness, the staff on the Air Canada flight was good. There was just no comparison on all of the other aspects.)

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

The only reason why Air Canada has become so bad is the influence of American competition. It has become a spiral downward since American deregulation. I always wonder when this will hit rock bottom but they keep finding ways to make the experience more unpleasant. But, we get what we deserve as most demand the lowest possible price. Go ahead, wear three sets of underwear, two shirts and pants to avoid the ever increasing luggage fees.

Anybody who complains about Air Canada must not have traveled much in the US. They are better than all of the American carriers for service. Except for maybe JetBlue. A more comfortable fleet too with the majority being Airbus (all Airbus seat are 0.5-1" wider than equivalent Boeing). The AC fleet tends to be younger and actually cleaned more frequently too.

You want to compare to Emirates, Etihad and Cathay. Would you also like to have the labour laws that enable that kind of service? You know. The stuff where their female flight attendants have beauty standards, must live in dorms and get permanently grounded or terminated if they have a family. I grew up in Dubai. The entire place runs on the exploitation of cheap labour from the rest of Asia. And that includes the service I too loved on Emirates. I would never trade everything else we have in Canada for that. But ya know, at least Mussolini made the trains run on time right?

Also, people love to compare to long haul. Go to Europe where most continental travel is Ryanair and Easyjet. Take a few of those flights and then come back and tell us what you think of Air Canada.

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

I am excited that Canada will finally get a High-Speed Rail line, but my enthusiasm is tempered by the fear that it will be turned into something that is low frequency, slower-than-promised, onerous to take, too expensive for what it provides, and look and feel like the cheapest possible option.

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

An impossible dream is to go to the station, hop on train in 15 minutes without a previously paid ticket and pay a reasonable fare. This will demand surplus seating but will guarantee maximum switch to rail. Pay attention to European and Asian train models and keep away from airline models. If they make it unpleasant and expensive, people will continue to use cars.

If the stations are in Bells Corners and on the Quebec side, I will not use rail. Besides, how can we get agreement on a new Ottawa River bridge anywhere in this city?

The conversation on this thread on station siting is hilariously typical of Ottawa. Toronto-Ottawa travel time is projected at ~2 hrs by Alto is substantially competitive with air travel regardless of where they put the station. With that in mind, why bother spending billions on a new station and new approaches if the current station works? Alto's priorities in Ottawa, in order:

1) Get through Ottawa as quickly as possible.
2) Build as cheaply as possible.

Those two lend themselves to some corridor upgrades and station redevelopment. Moving the station is only justifiable if it save a notable amount of thru travel time and is relatively cheaper development for the time saved. I don't think there's much of a case for any move. Maybe Greenboro if you stretch. But even that's a leap.

[Truenorth00]

Originally Posted by Kitchissippi

Having open air HSR platforms would be a joke in this climate .You’d end up with the same situation as our LRT stations and filthy trains in the winter. HSR stations in tropical locations like Laos and Indonesia are even covered.

I would also bet there will be a bit more security measures involved, not quite airport level but more similar to going into the Parliament Visitors Centre where you walk through a metal detector and have baggage scanned. While you can’t hijack a train, a higher profile facility sadly makes it a potential target for terrorism. Ideally you’d want a comfortable post security waiting lounge with seating, washrooms and possibly a cafe. The only way I could see them achieving this at Tremblay is to build an elevated concourse that covers the tracks at the same time, but that’s almost like building a brand new station.

When I've traveled in places where HSR has security it varies. Some places have bag and body scanning to enter the station itself. Some only do it to the platform. I don't think we'll need security necessarily. Alto isn't going to be fundamentally different as an attractive target than GO or VIA today. Every GO train has a 1000 riders at rush hour. Every VIA train has 300. Stations just need to be designed so that security can be ramped as needed.

On the covered station front, it's mostly about maintenance. Way easier to maintain platforms in a covered station. Apparently the City of Ottawa didn't get that memo when planning the Confederation Line. But Montreal did when building the REM.

[urbanforest]

Originally Posted by Richard Eade

Here’s a serious question:

What about having a station at, say, Bells Corners or Wesley Clover Park, and then crossing over to the Quebec side with the main station in downtown Gatineau, around Place du Portage?

• [This would] Put a ‘downtown’ station closer to the Parliament Buildings than any other option; and

The original Ottawa train station would be a sub-five minutes’ walk to Parliament, compared to ~30 minutes from Portage. Mind you, I don’t think Parliament Hill should necessarily be the centre of the universe when planning a major transportation infrastructure project.

[zzptichka]

If you were a terrorist why wouldn't you just blow up the tracks in the middle of nowhere right before a passing train? Much more fool-proof and gives you an easy way out.

But we'll get that classic security theatre kind of deal, that is inevitable unfortunately.

[Ottawacurious]

As part of the public consultation process, open houses will be held locally to share details on the proposed Ottawa–Montréal segment, timelines, and next steps, and to hear directly from Alto representatives.

������ Ottawa – Bayview Yards: January 21–22

Public consultations will run from January to March 2026 and include in-person and virtual engagement opportunities. This is an important opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback on a project that aims to improve connectivity, support economic growth, and reduce travel times.

More information is available at https://www.altotrain.ca/en/public-c...ion/open-house

[rocketphish]

From tourism to labour, high-speed rail project expected to benefit the Ottawa economy

Marissa Galko, OBJ
January 12, 2026

Local business leaders say high-speed rail will be a game-changer in many ways for Ottawa’s economy. In December, federal Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon announced that the first segment of the high-speed rail project to be constructed would be the 200 kilometres between Ottawa and Montreal, saying that a three-month consultation process would begin this month, with construction starting by 2029.

On Monday, Martin Imbleau, president and CEO of Alto, the Crown corporation responsible for the project, spoke to an Ottawa business audience, explaining the rationale behind making Ottawa-Montreal the first segment of the project that will ultimately operate from Toronto to Quebec City.

“(Ottawa, Laval and Montreal) sit at the crossroads of Quebec and Ontario and is a natural place to start. The Ottawa-Montreal segment gives us a more manageable distance to deliver in a controlled, disciplined way … it's 200 kilometres. Still, it enables us to leverage skilled labour on both sides of the provinces,” Imbleau told a crowd gathered at the National Arts Centre for an Ottawa Board of Trade event.

Calling the project a “generational investment in Canada’s economic future,” Imbleau said it is expected to deliver a one-time, $25-billion impact on the country’s GDP.

While the infrastructure, including the track and stations, will remain publicly owned, Alto will work with the private sector on the project. Speaking to OBJ before the event, Imbleau urged businesses in the National Capital Region to get involved.

“Imagine the talent and opportunities that Ottawa will be connected to. So instead of having three different localities, it becomes one big economic region. But before that, we need to build it. The opportunities (for) the development and construction (in) the Ottawa region is just fantastic. I need everyone to start preparing today, because construction will start in four years,” he said. “I need the businesses and construction community of Ottawa to get prepared for it.” In his remarks, Imbleau said the project will offer many opportunities for Ottawa businesses.

“We're already engaging producers to understand their capacity and readiness to provide us with domestic supply chains. Construction will also call for an army of expertise and workforce; 50,000 people will be required, enough to fill the Canadian (Tire) Centre three times over. We're talking about Ottawa-based welders, surveyors, electricians (and) signal communication technicians to keep the train running safely at full speed at 300 kilometres per hour. Construction crews to build bridges, tunnels and electrified tracks, all with millimetre precision.” In the short-term, he said, Alto will look for local surveyors, people with environmental expertise and engineers to take part in the development process. Imbleau said he hopes the local construction industry will ready its workforce to respond to this demand. He described the project as an “industrial accelerator (and) a weapon of mass construction,” and said it will also impact Ottawa businesses by improving productivity and allowing companies to broaden their talent pools.

“Businesses will spend less time moving people and more time producing,” he said. While there is not yet a location identified for a station in Ottawa, Imbleau said it will be vital that it is connected to local transit lines. He praised Ottawa’s LRT system and said Alto will be learning from local examples to “replicate some of the good successes and avoid the mistakes.” Over the next few weeks, Alto will conduct a consultation process online and in-person across many of the regions it will service. An in-person session is scheduled for Jan. 21-22 at Bayview Yards in Ottawa and for March 11 at Maison du citoyen in Gatineau. Stephen Willis, federal sector leader in infrastructure projects at professional services firm Stantec and a former senior planning official at the National Capital Commission and the City of Ottawa, said the high-speed rail project “may be the most significant infrastructure project in Ottawa’s history, after the building of the Rideau Canal.” “The Ottawa (and) Gatineau regions (make up) about a million-and-a-half people together right now and we're growing towards two million, but connectivity to the bigger economic centres in Montreal and Toronto are really important. Montreal (is at) seven-and-a-half million (people and) Toronto (is) heading quickly towards 10 million. We need that economic synergy … and the relationships,” Willis told OBJ at the event, adding that the project will also better connect families. Kevin McHale, executive director of Downtown BIA, told OBJ that the project should benefit Ottawa’s tourism industry.

“So much of our tourism is regional-based with visitors coming from Toronto and Montreal. So to have a dedicated line (and more) pedestrian traffic back and forth, I think it will be spectacular.” Erin Benjamin, president and CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association, said a project of this size will improve Ottawa’s access to musical acts.

“I think that high-speed rail connectivity to Ottawa will make it even easier for music fans to come to this city and enjoy concerts and festivals like never before. I mean, it's absolutely game-changing in terms of identifying Ottawa as a more and more viable market (as a) music city,” she told OBJ.

When complete, the high-speed rail project will service stations in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Montreal, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City, cutting travel times by half.

https://obj.ca/high-speed-rail-proje...ttawa-economy/

[lrt's friend]

Another video that talks about recent rail projects and the risks it presents to Alto.


• Video Link

[Truenorth00]

Here come the Doomers and local grifters.

I, for one, am grateful that Alto was structured specifically to avoid the kind of governance problems Metrolinx had, which are also a unique level of incompetence imposed by an incompetent provincial government. Ottawa has the same with an incompetent city council. Alto is, thankfully, far more hands off politically. Parliamentarians aren't dictating exact routing, scheduling, construction methods, etc.

[dougvdh]

More information on the route and the station options posted on the consultation page:

Consultation Map: https://en.consultation.altotrain.ca...nsultation-map

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by dougvdh

More information on the route and the station options posted on the consultation page:

Consultation Map: https://en.consultation.altotrain.ca...nsultation-map

The depicted corridors:

[Mousel]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

The depicted corridors:

There's a lot of talk about Union Station here. I can't say I expected that to be a real consideration but I can't get over how insane and utterly transformational it would be for Ottawa if it happened.