Ottawa will announce tomorrow the launch of the tender process for the long-awaited High Frequency Train (TGF) project, the final route of which will ultimately provide the connection between Toronto and Quebec City, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra revealed on Monday. .
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In a short video posted on his Twitter account, the Minister offers VIA Rail passengers the new scoop, microphone in hand.
He was then on his way to Quebec, where the official announcement is to be held on Tuesday morning, along with other federal ministers and the mayor of Quebec, Régis Labaume.
In the video, Minister Alghabra specifies that the future train will link the cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. However, it could stop in a set of cities along the way, such as Trois-Rivières.
“It will increase the speed limit up to 200 kilometers per hour and increase the frequency for passengers like you and transform the connection between these cities,” said Mr. Alghabra at the microphone.
In Budget 2021, Ottawa proposed to grant VIA Rail $ 491.2 million over six years for infrastructure investments “that would support the overall success of the high-frequency train project.”
These investments aim to reduce bottlenecks and improve fluidity, in addition to allowing the company “to initiate an important stage of the high-frequency train project in the corridor”.
An additional $ 4.4 million will be used to reduce project costs and risks by promoting research at the joint project office.
By betting on the TGF, Ottawa is ruling out the scenario of a high-speed train (TGV) for good.
According to the Journal de Montréal, this second option was the one preferred by the Minister of Infrastructure, Catherine McKenna. More specifically, it advocated a fully electric TGV linking Montreal and Toronto, but which would leave aside Quebec and Trois-Rivières.
Still according to the “Journal”, this option was also the one favored by Michael Sabia, former big boss of the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec, who gave birth to the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) project. He is now Chairman of the Board of the Infrastructure Bank of Canada (CIB) and Deputy Minister of Finance in Ottawa.
The dilemma between the TGF and the TGV would have been hotly discussed within the ranks of the Liberals, while the caucus of Quebec deputies defended the first option because of its route connecting the two other major Quebec cities.
It is also necessary to underline the very important difference in costs between the two scenarios. Indeed, the price of the TGF would amount to between 4 to 10 billion $, against 15 to 60 billion $ for the TGV. On the other hand, the journey time between Toronto and Montreal on the TGV would be around 2h30, while for the TGF, the expected duration is 4:45.
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