Canada’s first high-speed trains could begin testing east of Ottawa as early as 2034, potentially putting communities across Eastern Ontario at the centre of one of the country’s largest transportation projects.
The Cadence consortium, which is working with Alto to develop the high-speed rail network, has confirmed that a section of the future railway between Ottawa and Montreal will be used to test how the trains perform under Canadian conditions, particularly during harsh winter weather.
The exact location of the testing section has not yet been determined.
Alto is also expected to narrow down its current 10-kilometre-wide study corridor before the end of the fall, giving residents, farmers and municipalities a clearer picture of where the railway could eventually be built.
The final route is expected to be selected in 2027.