Construction on Toronto-Quebec City leg of high-speed rail line slated for 2032: CEO

A presentation in Ottawa about the proposed high-speed rail link that would first connect Ottawa and Montreal. Jan. 12, 2026. (Josh Marano/CTV News Ottawa)

The CEO of a planned high-speed rail project between Toronto and Quebec City says construction on the eastern and western parts of the line is expected to begin by 2032.  

Following a speech in Montreal on Tuesday, Martin Imbleau told reporters the portions connecting the two provincial capitals will likely 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 link 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.

“Construction of the western part and eastern part will start probably a couple of years after the initial construction period,” Imbleau said.

He said it was too early to specify which of the two stretches — Toronto-Ottawa and Montreal-Quebec City — might begin first. Engineering work on one or both is slated to start during construction of the 200-kilometre Montreal-Ottawa track, he said.

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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, Imbleau said.

“The mandate is very specific and the intent is to go downtown,” he said. But the precise locations remain “tricky to envisage,” he added in a sit-down interview.

His speech also highlighted the challenges posed by an “intense urban environment” to a new railway that would see up to 72 trains per day traversing a 1,000-kilometre corridor.

The proposed network would host locomotives running on dedicated electric tracks at speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour, slashing current travel times. It would make for a three-hour trip between the country’s two largest cities and less than one hour between Montreal and Ottawa.

Alto estimates the full project will cost between $60 billion and $90 billion. The government has not yet made a final decision approving funding for the entire rail line.

A three-month public consultation for the entire corridor is set to kick off later this month.

Along the route, some expropriations will be necessary, Imbleau acknowledged, declining to give an estimate.

The aim is to have “willing sellers,” he told reporters. “Negotiate directly with the landowners, with the proper consultation and being very transparent.

“Expropriation is a loaded word, because it’s frustrating. Hopefully it’s not going to be a tool that is the predominant one,” he said.

The high-speed rail project was first announced by then-prime minister Justin Trudeau in February. In September, his successor Mark Carney announced the government’s new major projects office would speed up engineering and regulatory work on the railway to get construction underway within four years.

Imbleau’s mention of 2030 as a possible start date, rather than 2029, marks a slight adjustment to the initial timeline for construction.

He stressed that “conviction” was the biggest hurdle.

“Let’s stay laser-focused on making this happen. Focus on the first segment, start construction, learn and deploy with more agility going east and going west,” he told reporters.

Stations are planned for Toronto, Peterborough, Ont., Ottawa, Laval, Que., Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Que., and Quebec City.

Attempting to add more stops would lead to “scope creep,” he told The Canadian Press. “This is where projects fall apart and are derailed.”

By Christopher Reynolds

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2026.