MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada wants about 90% of its proposed High Frequency Rail route between Toronto and Quebec City to be electrified, the passenger operator’s CEO has told the Montreal Gazette.
VIA CEO Cynthia Garneau said the 90% figure “is not a written goal” but that the company will aim to electrify as much of the route is possible. That portions of the route near city centers, using routes owned by other companies, might not be electrified.
VIA unveiled the High Frequency Rail project, which would provide separate, passenger-only rights-of-way on parts of the corridor, in 2015. It remains largely conceptual, however, as the Canadian government has funded various studies but has yet to make a financial commitment to a project that could cost C$12 billion or more. In its latest move, the government said it would seek private-sector involvement in the project, a process that will continue through fall 2024 [see “Transport Canada inches forward …,” Trains News Wire, March 10, 2022].
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