Canada plans to develop a high-speed rail network in the Toronto-Quebec City corridor.
The high-speed rail service, Alto, will cover roughly 1,000 kilometers and reach speeds of up to 300 km/hour. Stops will include Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City. Once operational, it will slash current travel times in half, connecting Montréal and Toronto in three hours.
The Toronto-Quebec City corridor is home to 18 million people, 40 percent of Canada’s GDP, more than 700,000 students and more than 30 colleges and universities.
“Canada is getting high-speed rail,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement. “Today’s announcement of Alto, a high-speed rail system between Toronto and Quebec City, will transform our economy – drastically shortening commute times for millions of Canadians, turbocharging economic growth, creating thousands of good-paying jobs, improving productivity, and reducing emissions.”
In November 2022, the Canadian government created a Crown corporation, VIA HFR, now Alto, to oversee the project.
Canada’s investment in the co-development phase of the project represents $3.9 billion over six years, starting in 2024-25. This is in addition to the $371.8 million in the 2024 budget.
Cadence, a consortium of world-renowned companies with expertise and know-how in designing, developing, and operating large-scale transportation infrastructure projects, was selected to co-design, build, finance, operate, and maintain the project.
