Why we should build high frequency rail

After studying passenger rail projects for four decades, and the spending of millions of dollars by governments and companies, we have decided to act. The High Frequency Rail (HFR) initiative was launched by the federal government in 2022 for a greatly improved passenger rail service between Québec City, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. This is an opportunity for Canada to build a transformative passenger transportation system that addresses major challenges, including climate change, road, rail and airport congestion, economic growth, improved productivity, mobility and accessibility including accommodating our aging population. We are also looking into the potential for improved rail service in Southwestern Ontario, from Toronto to Windsor, that could be integrated with the Toronto to Quebec project. The 850 km Quebec-Toronto corridor is home to 15 million people and growing very quickly, and includes Canada’s two largest metro areas, two provincial and the national capital cities. It is the economic heart of the country with a population density similar to the Paris, Lyon, Marseilles corridor in France which has been served very successfully by the TGV since the 1980s. The project is well underway. In October 2023, we launched a Request for Proposal to select the partner that will collaboratively design and develop the project with VIA HFR, the arms-length subsidiary of VIA Rail that is managing the project. The three private sector consortia that were selected earlier this year are developing their detailed proposals. This process is supported by some of the $400-million in federal funding budgeted in 2022. VIA HFR is a dedicated project office that leads the key activities including Indigenous and public consultations, and technical and commercial aspects. It will work with VIA Rail Canada and the chosen consortium to develop an integrated, financially, and technologically sound project. Based on their worldwide experience, the three consortia must propose alternatives to meet and exceed the requirements, including by offering options to reduce trip times by increasing operating speeds beyond 200 kph, something I personally favour. By operating many more passenger trains per day, shorter trip times, with excellent reliability, between downtowns, suburbs, and smaller centres, this project would transform our passenger transportation system. Experience shows us that we would derive many benefits, some of which are obvious such direct increases to GDP and employment, while others that are just as real, but hard to measure. This project would essentially create a more competitive super metropolis out of four separate metro areas and smaller cities by making travel for work, education, business, tourism or visiting family and friends much more efficient than anything we have today. Having trains powered by Quebec and Ontario’s green power and taking thousands of automobiles off the road is great for the environment. HFR will also free up rail capacity to support additional freight and exports. Dedicated passenger rail systems worldwide have almost perfect safety records, and HFR will provide additional robustness in our transportation system in facing man-made or natural disasters that are becoming commonplace. Trains are more accessible and enhance mobility for all, and because they use dynamic pricing models, they can accommodate passengers at prices they can afford if they are flexible in their travel plans. HFR is aligned with the government’s direction to double tourism’s contribution to our economy in a decade. Once HFR is implemented, tourism will be boosted further as domestic and international visitors will be able to seamlessly travel to four of Canada’s great cities and smaller centres, including Peterborough and Trois-Rivières. HFR is Canada’s largest infrastructure project in generations. It will be expensive to build, but will be profitable for our country when taking into account direct and indirect socio-economic benefits. Efficient passenger rail transportation has become integral to many countries’ daily functioning and economic development, and there is no reason to believe this will not be the case here. Perhaps even more important is that the HFR project can mobilize Canadians and remind us that we can do big things. It can remind us that we are still a nation of visionaries that can turn those visions into reality, while bringing us closer together and positively impacting millions of us for generations. Liberal MP Annie Koutrakis, who represents Vimy, Que., was the parliamentary secretary to the minister of transport in 2021, and was recently appointed PS to the minister of tourism and economic development for the regions of Quebec. She served on the House Finance Committee during the pandemic, and is now on the Transport and MAID committees. The Hill Times

Why we should build high frequency rail

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Why we should build high frequency rail

Efficient passenger rail transport has become integral to many countries’ daily functioning and economic development, and there is no reason to believe this will not be the case in Canada.

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