Canadian government pledges CAN$3.9bn for country鈥檚 first high-speed railway
21 February 2025
Canada鈥檚 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged CAN$3.9 billion (US$2.8 billion) over six years to develop the country鈥檚 first high-speed railway, running 1,000km (621 miles) from Toronto to Quebec City.
Image: Alto
The Cadence consortium, consisting of AtkinsR茅alis, Air Canada, CDPQ Infra, Keolis, Systra, and SNCF Voyageurs, will co-design, build, finance, operate and maintain the project.
Cadence will collaborate with and support the Toronto鈥換uebec City High-Speed 鈥嬧�婻ail Network (known as Alto), as work starts on detailed design, indigenous consultations, land acquisitions and environmental assessments.
Cadence and Alto are expected to sign a contract setting out the terms of the next phase of the project shortly.
Trudeau鈥檚 office claimed that the railway would boost Canada鈥檚 GDP by up to $35 billion, with the line serving an area that is home to 18 million people and accounts for 40% of the country鈥檚 GDP.
Trains will run at speeds of up to 300km/h (186.4 mph) and stop at Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montr茅al, Laval, Trois-Rivi猫res, and Quebec City.
Canadian passenger rail services currently run on tracks owned by freight railways, which limits the frequency of the service they offer and leads to delays, according to Trudeau鈥檚 office.
Trudeau said, 鈥淐anada is getting high-speed rail. Today鈥檚 announcement of Alto, a high-speed rail system between Toronto and Quebec City, will transform our economy 鈥� drastically shortening commute times for millions of Canadians, turbocharging economic growth, creating thousands of good-paying jobs, improving productivity, and reducing emissions.鈥�
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