MONTREAL — Canada’s high-speed rail project could could involve the construction of lengthy tunnels in Montreal, the company responsible for the project says in a route description on its website — which could greatly increase the cost of the project. A tunnel could also be an option in Toronto.
Alto, the Crown corporation that will oversee construction and operation of the route between Toronto and Quebec City, says in its look at the corridor under study that to reach Montreal, “the current hypothesis” involves building a tunnel under the Rivière des Prairies and Mount Royal to access downtown directly, reducing integration challenges in a dense urban setting. The station, planned for the Ville-Marie borough, could be at surface level or underground; several options are under review in collaboration with municipal authorities.”
That tunnel would be more than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in length, and a professor at Montreal’s McGill University told the Canadian Press that construction of that tunnel would cost more than Ca$1 billion per kilometer, or $1.17 billion U.S. per mile. At that price, the news agency says, the tunnel would eat up up 12% to 18% of the project budget of Ca$60 billion to $90 billion.
Lack of a clear route into downtown Montreal is a significant issue for the high-speed line. The existing 3.3-mile (5.3 kilometer) Mount Royal tunnel, built by a Canadian National predecessor between 1912 and 1918, was used for commuter rail service until 2020, when it was turned over to the Réseau express métropolitain light rail project.
Similar downtown access challenges exist in Toronto; Alto’s route description says it is considering options to reach downtown from the north or the east, including use of existing corridors, tunnels, or elevated tracks.
Alto is currently involved in consultations to develop a final route for the 1,000-kilometer corridor; the study zone addresses an approximately 10-kilometer-wide band along the projected path.
— To report news or errors, contact trainsnewswire@firecrown.com.
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