Go Alto: The public campaign backing Canada’s high-speed rail project

A new group called ‘Go Alto’ is expressing support for the proposed Alto high-speed project amid opposition elsewhere. CTV’s Dylan Dyson reports.

Alto’s high-speed rail line between Ottawa and Montreal may be years away from rolling out, but there is a new group trying to gather steam for the project.

Go Alto launched its public campaign on Monday, backing the proposed high-speed rail line that would connect Toronto to Ottawa and Quebec City.

“The time we spent traveling right now, it’s time we lose,” said David Bellerive, founder of Go Alto.

“It’s time we lose that we could spend with our family, doing work, or just enjoying life. And for me, that’s why Alto matters a lot.”

The project is just getting started, with Alto holding information sessions and mailing letters to landowners for exploratory land research. It’s been met with strong opposition from residents, communities, and politicians.

But Bellerive says this is the vocal minority, and more Canadians are in favour of Alto than against.

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“A recent survey by Probe Research shows that at least 61 per cent of Canadians are in favour of the project,” Bellerive told CTV News Ottawa.

The proposed high-speed line could cut current train travel times in half, making a two hour trip to from Ottawa to Montreal only one hour.

“Being able to do Ottawa to Toronto in three hours instead of five; this is faster than driving. This is faster than just going to the airports and catching a plane for most people, and it is downtown to downtown.”

Between Ottawa’s LRT and VIA Rail, Bellerive says he wants a rail system that will get him where he wants to go and having witnessed the issues the O-Train and VIA have experienced over the years, this is a time to get a rail project right.

There are still many factors to be determined, such as where through Ontario the line would run, where in Ottawa the train would stop, and if it should be built along the 400-series highways.

“Highways are a bit problematic because they look straight when we’re driving on them, but can you picture yourself driving 200 km/h on the highway? The curves don’t allow for that and it’s the same problem for a train,” said Bellerive.

As a VIA Rail train rolled into Ottawa’s station 45 minutes late Tuesday afternoon, some riders said they were in favour of the project.

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“I’d be willing to pay a bit more to take that trip, definitely,” said Domenic Amatangelo, who travelled from Toronto to Ottawa.

“Yeah, we should have more high-speed train everywhere,” added Simon Tremblay, who takes the VIA Rail train from Montreal to Ottawa for work.

“There will be people opposing because they have to expropriate. They have to do a lot of things. So, I don’t think we’ll see it in 10 years’ time, but it’s a good idea that we started doing it.”