After years of discussions about high-speed rail between Toronto and Quebec City (with worries that these plans would lead to little to no results), Prime Minister Trudeau just announced plans for ‘Alto’, a high-speed rail network in the Toronto-Quebec City corridor.
This rail network is expected to transform the megaregion, which is home to 18 million people (including over 700,000 students, and more than 30 colleges and universities) and responsible for about 40 per cent of Canada’s GDP.
Introducing Alto: Canada’s largest infrastructure project ever — connecting nearly 20 million Canadians between Quebec City and Toronto with 300km/hour high-speed rail.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 19, 2025
Passenger rail service in Canada currently runs on tracks owned by freight rails, which often leads to longer service times. Once this high-speed train is operational, travel times will be slashed by about 45 per cent, getting passengers from Montréal to Toronto in about three hours (the average travel time from Toronto to Montreal by VIA Rail is 5 hours and 8 minutes, notwithstanding any delays).
“Today’s announcement will put passengers first,” Transport Minister Anita Anand said at the press conference this morning, emphasizing the passenger-focused design of Alto. “This will cut train travel times in half. It will promote growth in regional economies and reduce emissions at the same time. It’s a nation-building project we can all be proud of.”
Alto will be Canada’s largest-ever infrastructure project, boosting the GDP by up to $35 billion annually, creating over 51,000 jobs, and enhancing productivity for decades to come.
According to a government statement, Cadence — an alliance of experienced Canadian and international private partners with expertise in large-scale transportation infrastructure — was selected to co-design, build, finance, operate, and maintain this project. Cadence will support Alto as work begins on the design phase, consultations, land acquisition, and the environmental assessments needed to enable construction.
Possible Delays
Construction on the rail is expected to begin after the design phase is complete, and that could take a few years — and there could still be further delays or the possibility that the project won’t be implemented. According to Trudeau, the government has committed $3.9 billion to the project’s co-development phase over the next six years, with an additional $371.8 million in funding from the 2024 budget. With a federal election taking place in or before October, a future elected government could potentially modify, delay, or even cancel Alto.
If implemented, the high-speed rail project would operate in a similar fashion to France’s high-speed rail network, which runs up to 320 km/h on a high-speed network linking towns across France (more importantly: it’s smooth and quiet, even at high speeds). And who knows, perhaps Also will inspire a high-speed train corridor between Toronto and New York.
