High-speed rail construction could begin in four years, LeBlanc says

The federal government wants construction on a planned high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City to begin within four years. 

On Thursday, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the government's new major projects office will work to speed up engineering and regulatory work on the Alto high-speed rail line. 

"This is a very exciting project in a very densely populated area," he told reporters at a press conference in Montreal. 

LeBlanc made the comments at the Port of Montreal, where a planned expansion is among the first five projects under consideration for fast-track approval through the federal government's major projects office.

Alto was not among the five projects unveiled Thursday, but the government has listed it with others identified for future development.

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau announced in February that Ottawa had awarded a $3.9-billion, six-year contract to a consortium to design the project. If completed, the 1,000-kilometre high-speed rail network would take passengers from Montreal to Toronto in just three hours on trains travelling up to 300 kilometres an hour.

On Thursday, LeBlanc said the work over the next four years would determine the final route between Toronto and Quebec City. "Imagine the assessments, imagine the Indigenous consultations along a 1000-kilometre route," he said. "It represents a significant, significant undertaking."

He said roughly half of Canada's population lives along the high-speed rail corridor. 

LeBlanc said it would have taken eight years to begin construction of the rail project, without the assistance of the major projects office, though it's unclear where that number comes from. The design contract announced in February was for six years. At the time, Trudeau said the development phase might only last four to five years. 

Alto did not immediately respond to questions from The Canadian Press. LeBlanc did not say when Ottawa hopes to see the first phase of the project up and running. 

Alto CEO Martin Imbleau has estimated the total cost of the high-speed rail project at between $60 billion and $90 billion. 

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov