Feds slow down timeline for faster Toronto-Quebec City railway
Posted July 20, 2023 12:08 pm.
Last Updated July 20, 2023 1:04 pm.
MONTREAL — The federal government is slowing the timeline on a faster passenger railway set to stretch from Toronto to Quebec City.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says he hopes the high-frequency rail line will be running by the mid-2030s — rather than the early 2030s, which he projected as recently as March.
At a press conference Thursday, Alghabra announced a request for proposals from three consortiums that had made it onto a shortlist.
“We were seeking up to three qualified candidates who could demonstrate that they have the necessary experience and expertise for a project of this kind of magnitude,” said Alghabra.
While the minister has previously pegged the likely cost at between $6 billion and $12 billion, he declined to put a rough price tag on the undertaking today, stating that the government will first have to assess the proposals.
“We are challenging ourselves and the private sector to come up with innovative ideas that can build and improve on this project. So, we have our reference proposal but we are inviting the private sector from around the world and from Canada because we want to come up with the best project for Canadians. Canadians deserve, when we are building such a large project, to do this the best that we can, to have the best value.”
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, the Liberals’ Quebec lieutenant, says a fully high-speed rail corridor — called for by some politicians in that province — that hits peaks of up to 300 km/h is not feasible, given the number of stops the trains will make.
The passenger cars are expected to pass through Montreal, Trois-Rivières and other Quebec and Ontario municipalities that sit between Toronto and Quebec City, running at up to 200 km/h.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2023.
