A VIA Rail train passes through Smiths Falls
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada’s biggest infrastructure project yet—a high-speed rail network called Alto. The 1,000-kilometre system will hit speeds of 300 km/hour, cutting Toronto-Montréal travel time to just three hours.
Despite hopes of becoming a regional hub, Smiths Falls was left off the route.
Mayor Shawn Pankow called the decision “disappointing,” and told myFM he will have more comment in the near future. The train will stop in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City.
The Toronto-Quebec City corridor, home to 18 million people and 40 per cent of Canada’s GDP, was deemed essential for rapid transit. The federal government says the project could add $35 billion to the economy and create over 51,000 jobs during construction.
Cadence, a consortium of global infrastructure experts, will co-design, build, finance, and operate the system. The high-speed rail is expected to reshape Canadian travel for generations.