‘Once in a lifetime’: Exploring high-speed rail station options in Ottawa

One of Ottawa’s most iconic buildings is in the spotlight as the potential stop for high-speed rail. As CTV’s Austin Lee reports, the idea has support.

It has been 60 years since visitors to Ottawa had the option of taking the train directly into the heart of the nation’s capital.

Now, decades later, there is talk of bringing the Senate of Canada Building back to its Union Station roots as a hub for a proposed high-speed rail system from Quebec City to Toronto.

Alto, the Crown corporation behind the high-speed rail project, recently moved into a new phase of the plan kicking off a public engagement process aimed at shaping how the rail line could transform travel in Ontario and Quebec.

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe says bringing a high-speed rail station to the heart of the downtown core is something that must be considered.

“We have a once in a century opportunity to get this right. We’re only going to build a project like this once and if there is a way to get it downtown so that people are disembarking from the trains right in the heart of downtown Ottawa, we have to explore that,” said Sutcliffe.

“There’s a lot of logistics involved. There are lots of considerations, including cost and the speed of the trains, but I think this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and if we have a chance to bring it downtown, we should bring it downtown.”

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Sutcliffe says it is early in the process, and all options are on the table, but the old Union Station seems like the frontrunner for a downtown station.

“That seems like the most logical place given that it was a train station before and it currently is only being used on a temporary basis by the Senate,” he said.

“It’s obviously very complicated and it is a federal project; it’s not a municipal project. We will be involved, obviously, if it’s coming to our city, but it is a federal project.”

The Senate of Canada Building, originally known as Grand Trunk Central Station, opened in 1912.

It has not operated as a train station since 1966.

Between 2014 and 2019, the building underwent roughly $200 million worth of rehabilitation and modernization work.

“It’s a lovely building and not only a lovely building, but the $190 million which was spent for the Senate has brought it up to modern standards. So, once the Senate moves out, it will be crying out for a new public role,” said David Jeanes, a retired engineer and director of Transport Action Canada.

Jeanes adds converting the building back into a train station would take time and it would be costly, but he says it’s an idea that should be taken seriously.

“You would probably want to tunnel,” he said.

“That’s a huge task. The tunnel would be a little bit shorter than the LRT tunnel but remember all the difficulties that we had digging that under downtown Ottawa. It could be done. It is feasible. It would cost a couple of billion dollars, I expect.”

Another option for the station could be the VIA Rail station on Tremblay Road, which Jeanes suggests could even serve as a temporary hub until the old Union Station is ready for the high-speed rail system.

“There are many cities where high-speed rail has been built in stages into the city centres,” said Jeanes.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, Alto said it’s still too early to commit to any locations in Ottawa or anywhere else along the proposed rail line.

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“Public consultations on the Alto high-speed rail project are currently underway across Ontario and Quebec. Input that we gather at these open houses will help inform, among other things, the selection of the rail network alignment and station locations,” read part of the statement.

“While it’s too early to speculate on or confirm station locations at any of the seven stops, including Ottawa, we will consider all viable options for each. As well, the locations will be determined by their ability to meet key criteria such as safety, connectivity, accessibility, and social acceptability.”

Public consultations are underway on Alto’s website until March 29.