After years of speculation, Canada's federal government is moving ahead with plans to construct the country's first high-speed rail network, a project that's set to be one of Canada’s largest infrastructure investments in decades and expected to spur development.
“This announcement marks an important step forward in delivering faster, cleaner and more connected transportation for Canadians,” Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said in a statement. “We are laying the groundwork for a high-speed rail network that will put Canada firmly on the global map for modern rail innovation.”
In an unexpected turn, the Government of Canada has confirmed the initial segment of the Alto High-Speed Rail network will run between Montreal and Ottawa. Some had expected that the planned Toronto–Montreal segment would be the starting point, given the heavy traffic between the cities.
Critics argued that adding Ottawa would increase mileage and defeat efficiency. But, Alto CEO Martin Imbleau said in a statement, that focusing on the Ottawa–Montreal segment "is a logical step to optimize the project, accelerate delivery and generate tangible local economic benefits."
The government announcement of the start of the project did not offer an estimated cost for the Montreal-Ottawa line. A larger iteration of a high-speed rail project connecting Quebec City and Toronto was projected to cost $60 million to $90 billion, according to federal evaluation documents obtained by La Presse in September. These internal records, prepared for Public Services and Procurement Canada, detail reviews carried out between October 2023 and July 2024.
Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney has made this project a centerpiece of his infrastructure agenda. During his campaign, Carney promised to fast-track nation-building projects, including high-speed rail, and introduced legislation to accelerate approvals for projects deemed of national interest. In September, he confirmed the Alto high-speed rail would be among the first five major projects to receive fast-track treatment, pledging to begin construction within four years instead of eight.
Unlike VIA Rail’s current service, Alto will utilize dedicated, electrified tracks that will not be shared with freight trains, a feature that has long vexed Canadian passenger rail by slowing speeds. In addition, the Alto train route would not simply follow existing rail lines as high-speed rail requires straighter curves and grade separation.
Trains would travel as fast as 300 kilometres per hour, cutting Ottawa–Montreal travel to about 45 minutes versus two hours by car. A trip from Montreal to Toronto would drop to roughly three hours from five-plus in automobiles.
A series of consultations to encourage community input is scheduled to take place from January to March, and the pre-procurement process is expected to commence later that year, with construction not expected to begin until 2029, the government announced. Phase one could open between 2035 and 2038, with full network completion projected for 2041–2044.
How high-speed rail could spur development
The project could boost gross domestic product by $35 billion and create 51,000 jobs during construction, according to officials. For real estate, faster connections are expected to spur housing development and transit-oriented communities along the corridor with Ottawa, Gatineau, and Montreal likely to see the most activity.
“This High-Speed Rail project is a generational investment that will shape Canada’s economic future,” according to the Transport Ministry.
The logic behind prioritizing an Ottawa–Montreal high-speed rail link over the more obvious Montreal–Toronto corridor came down to feasibility and politics. The Ottawa–Montreal segment is shorter, at roughly 200 kilometers and has a straighter route that is technically simpler to engineer.
Many Canadians have analyzed the numerous ongoing plans to build high-speed rail, including Montreal journalist Paige Saunders, who has reported on the topic extensively.
"We should build infrastructure that gets maximum utility by the public, by locking in a monopoly, we get a much smaller economic benefit from the billions of trips where people stay in their cars or worse, stay at home," Saunders wrote in a note to CoStar News. "This far exceeds the money the government saves up front by getting the consortium to pay for the project."
By contrast, the Montreal–Toronto corridor spans about 500 kilometers by rail. Together, the two cities account for more than 11 million people, compared to about 5.8 million along the Ottawa–Montreal route. Today, the train trip between Montreal and Toronto takes five to five-and-a-half hours, while driving takes about five hours, and flying takes just over an hour. High-speed rail could cut the train journey to roughly 2.5 to 3 hours, making it competitive with air travel.
Global experience has shown that high-speed rail transforms property markets. In France, cities along the TGV, or Train à Grande Vitesse, the country's high-speed rail network operated by SNCF, saw property values surge and new business districts emerge; Japan’s Shinkansen turned secondary cities into thriving commuter hubs.
Other ongoing high-speed rail projects around the world include China’s massive expansion, which already spans more than 48,000 kilometers and is expected to reach 70,000 kilometers by 2035. Indonesia launched its Jakarta–Bandung line in 2024, and India is building the 508-kilometer Mumbai–Ahmedabad corridor, slated for completion in 2027. In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Qatar plan a 785-kilometer link between Riyadh and Doha with trains running at 300 kilometres per hour.