MONTREAL – The CEO of a planned high-speed rail project between Toronto and Quebec City says construction on that leg of the line is expected to begin by 2032.
Following a speech in Montreal on Tuesday, Martin Imbleau told reporters the line connecting the two provincial capitals will “probably” start to be built two years after shovels hit the ground on an earlier segment.
Construction of that first phase, set to kick off in 2029 or 2030, would connect Montreal and Ottawa and act as a test case for a multibillion-dollar infrastructure project intended to transform rail travel in Canada’s most densely populated region.
Imbleau says the Crown corporation, dubbed Alto, aims to have stations near the heart of downtown in both Toronto and Montreal, with Union Station and Central Station under consideration, respectively.
The proposed 1,000-kilometre network would see trains running on dedicated tracks at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour, slashing current travel times and making for a three-hour trip between the country’s two largest cities.
A three-month public consultation is set to kick off later this month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2026.
