Is high-speed rail coming to connect Toronto and Montreal?

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A pair of Montreal city councillors are hoping to get a high-speed train network between Toronto and Montreal on track.

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City Councillors Craig Sauvé and Serge Sasseville introduced the motion at a meeting last Monday, saying Canada is the only G7 country without HSR.

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Montreal City Council unanimously passed the motion. It calls for the federal government to step up and expand its plans for HSR between the cities to make the trains faster. One-third of Canada’s population lives along the Quebec City-Toronto corridor.

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“The enthusiasm is palpable for high-speed rail in the Quebec-Toronto corridor,” Sauvé had said on Feb. 20 when the motion was tabled. “It would be a huge legacy for quality of life and for the environment.”

The proposal would see the journey between Toronto and Montreal reduced considerably from 4.5 hours to three hours.

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The federal government has proposed a high-frequency rail project between Quebec City and Toronto. Federal Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra has said in the past that they are open to having trains capable of going faster than the proposed 200 km/h if the cost is feasible.