Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday revealed his government’s $3.9 billion, six-year plan to connect Quebec City and Toronto with a high-speed rail line.
“Today I’m announcing the launch of Alto, the largest infrastructure project in Canadian history,” Trudeau said in Montréal. “A reliable, efficient, high-speed rail network will be a game-changer for Canadians.”
Trudeau said the new rail network will run all-electric trains along 1,000 kilometres of track, reaching speeds of up to 300 km/hour, with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City.
A government statement said the project will stimulate the economy, “boosting GDP by up to $35 billion annually, creating over 51,000 good-paying jobs during construction.”
Trudeau said that once built, the new high-speed rail network will take passengers from Montreal to Toronto in three hours — about half the time it takes to drive and at double the speed of Via Rail’s …