MONTREAL — High-frequency rail is developing at something other than a high-speed pace in the hands of the Canadian government.
The CBC reports that Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said Thursday that he hopes the proposed passenger-only route between Toronto and Quebec City could be operation by the mid-2030s, rather than early in that decade, as Alghabra had projected as recently as March.
Alghabra acknowledged “it is a lengthy process,” the CBC reports, but contends, “this is the best way to do it, because we want to do it right.”
Alghabra has also backed away from a project price tag. In 2021, when the Transport Minister announced the government was launching the process to develop the high-frequency route conceived by VIA Rail Canada, he said it could cost between C$6 billion and C$12 billion [see “Canadian government says it will take first steps …,” Trains News Wire, July 7, 2021].
But during a Thursday press conference, he said the government will first have to assess proposals before discussing the price. “While I may have a sense for the overall number,” he said, “I also wouldn’t want to give Canadians an inaccurate number that later on I have to change.”
Thursday’s press conference was to announce that three consortia have been invited to move to the Request for Proposals stage in planning for the high-frequency rail route, as determined through Request for Qualifications protocols announced in February [see “Transport Canada defining process to narrow field …,” News Wire, Feb. 20, 2023].
The groups selected, and the companies that form those organizations, are:
— Cadence (CDPQ Infra; SNC-Lavalin; Systra Canada; Keolis Canada).
— Intercity Rail Developers (Intercity Development Partners; EllisDon Capital; Kilmer Transportation; First Rail Holdings; Jacobs; Hatch; CIMA+; First Group; RATP Dev Canada; Renfe Operadora).
— QConnexiON Rail Partners (Fengate, John Laing, Bechtel, WSP Canada; Deutsche Bahn).
The Request for Proposals will launch in September. Those groups will be asked to present proposals that Transport Canada says should include “a technically and commercially feasible solution, a business plan, and a management plan for the co-development, construction, and operations phases of the project.” More information on the process is available here.
Evaluation of the Request for Proposal submissions is scheduled for summer 2024.
The high-frequency rail project was first proposed by then-VIA CEO Yves Desjardins-Siciliano in 2015. It initially envisioned building a 110-mph route between Toronto and Montreal using a secondary Canadian Pacific route, parts of which had rails removed decades ago. It subsequently was expanded to include a route between Montreal and Quebec City [see “Transport Canada inches forward …,” News Wire, March 10, 2022].
Can we say “slowly but surely”?
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Sounds like the typical government project. Too many people involved, too many pressure and interest groups pulling in different directions and so much “CYA” with all the various alternatives to study, etc.
Meanwhile, Brightline West now has environmental approval, has decided on a design for train propulsion, equipment, etc. Groundbreaking soon and to be open for business in four years. Just saying.
And the little red dot on the map underlines the problem of going through Montreal now that the Mount Royal tunnel has been made inaccessible to mainline trains. Makes you wonder…
As far as time to completion: TBD+
As far as cost: Take your highest estimate and double it then add some more.
Best estimate of completion: Never!
The proposed line is distant from population centres. You will not have to worry about NIMBY as the area is vacant for the most part, but somebody will Whine cue PP.
Canada and the US are financially, technically and managerially incompetent to design, build and operate passenger rail. How and why it could possibly take a dozen years, after 8 years of studies, to have Brightline speeds on existing ROWs is ridiculous. Noting the number of consultants and contractors indicates part of the problem; too many fingers in the pie and a lack of in-house expertise within VIA and the Canadian government.
Here in NY State, CSX has kept similar service bottled up with NY and federal DOT for 14 years now. 56 years ago Empire Service had 5 trains NYC- Buffalo with most having 7:30 running times. Now Amtrak has 3 trains, the best time is 8:10. The trainsets are now much older that what New York Central and Penn Central operated.
This is a failure of political will and capture of transportation policy by consultants, contractors and the class 1s. We’ll never see decent passenger rail on this continent.
I have to agree. I have lost all my former respect for Canada and all the warm and fuzzy feelings I once had seeing the countless glorious Maple Leaf flags flying at the Sarnia (Ontario) border crossing. During the 1970’s to 1980’s decades, I’d visit Canada as often as I could, sometimes at monthly intervals plus or minus. With my 50% Ukrainian ancestry, I felt that Canada was my home almost as much as America.
Now, in 2023, it’s been a decade since last crossing the border and I have desire to do so again.
From where I sit, Canada and USA have equally wretched federal governments, and equally wretched polictical and economic cultures at the federal level, and equally vile men in the top office.
VIA is a joke. We’re expected to stop laughing when VIA claims it can get an all-new corridor (hundreds of kilometers long) up and running in twelve years or so, at a cost of only a few billion loonies. It’s not going to happen. It’s nothing more than a distraction from VIA’s near-total destruction of Canada’s once-magnificent passenger train network.
All you have to do is look at the groups giving input, all ones that know how to suck on the government teet. They’ll go through at least a billion loonies before anything is done.
This line is a meandering secondary main, it will need a lot of straightening out for 110 mph. It will be 50 million loonies by the time it gets built if ever.
And there is the NIMBY factor as well as land expropriation, see how well that’s going on in Quebec.
All you have to do is look at the groups giving input, all ones that know how to suck on the government teet. They’ll go through at least a billion loonies before anything is done.
This line is a meandering secondary main, it will need a lot of straightening out for 110 mph. It will be 50 million loonies by the time it gets built if ever.
And there is the NIMBY factor as well as land expropriation, see how well that’s going on in Quebec.
p.s we’d still let you come visit Charles