The government of Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) announced that they are committing CAD 71 million (USD 54.27 million) in federal funding to advance Via Rail´s unsolicited proposal for the High-Frequency Rail project in Quebec City-Toronto corridor. The funding will help with the additional planning over the next two years for the proposed modernized passenger rail system. This work is critical for informing the future options of the Government of Canada to deliver this important project.

A modernized passenger rail system with a dedicated track would significantly improve the movement of people in Canada’s most densely populated regions and busiest transportation corridor, from Quebec City to Toronto. The government wants to ensure there is sufficient rigor and robustness in the analysis of High-Frequency Rail in the Corridor, prior to making a final investment decision. This exploratory work is a responsible next step and will require Canada Infrastructure Bank and VIA Rail Canada’s expertise, as well as external advisors. The work that will be completed with the funding will also encourage private sector involvement.

High-Frequency Rail is VIA Rail Canada’s proposal to transform passenger rail services in Canada. If approved following further due diligence on the part of the Government of Canada, it would create new trains on dedicated tracks between major centres (Quebec City-Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto). New routes would be established on discontinued and lower density freight rail infrastructure between Toronto-Peterborough-Ottawa, Ottawa-Dorion-Montreal and Montreal-Trois-Rivières-Québec City.  

The High-Frequency Rail project involves separating passenger and freight rail operations, creating more capacity for sustainable transportation for both people and goods, as well as the opportunity to optimize current services along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

The Joint Project Team, between Canada Infrastructure Bank and VIA Rail Canada, will be established using the CAD 55 million (USD 42.03 million) in funding from Canada Infrastructure Bank. This Joint Project Team will explore the possibility of High-Frequency Rail in Quebec City-Toronto Corridor, focusing on the following activities from 2019 to 2020:

• finalizing legal and regulatory work related to safety and environmental assessments;
• consulting with stakeholders and Indigenous communities;
• examining required land and track acquisition; and
• completing the technical, financial and commercial analysis required for a final investment decision on High-Frequency Rail in the Corridor.

The balance of the funding, CAD 16.1 million (USD 12.23 million), including CAD 5 million (USD 3.82 million) still available from Budget 2018, is for Transport Canada and VIA Rail Canada to support VIA Rail Canada’s contributions to the important work of the Joint Project Team. It will also fund technical work to ensure the interoperability and integration of High-Frequency Rail with operating tracks used by local and regional transit providers in Montreal and Toronto. This includes track work in Montreal’s Mont-Royal Tunnel to enable VIA Rail Canada’s heavy rail trains to operate on this segment of the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) light rail system. This important piece of preliminary work is needed so that the different rail systems work together should High-Frequency Rail proceed in the future.

Via Rail has estimated the entire project cost will be more than CAD 4 billion (USD 3.06 billion). Via Rail estimates corridor ridership would be 9.9 million by 2030. The time it takes to get from Toronto to Montreal or Ottawa to Quebec City could, according to Via Rail, would be reduced by as much as 25 per cent with the faster trains.