Ottawa to be included on potential high-speed rail line

A photo showing a high-speed train. (Noovo Info report)

Ottawa will be a major stop along an incoming high speed rail line, which will soon be announced by the federal government.

During the Toronto Global Forum held Oct. 16-18, Transport Minister Anita Anand confirmed the government is reviewing bids for the project.

"The government of Canada is going ahead with one of three bids that we have now received for high frequency, high speed rail," the minister said.

"Those bids are under consideration now and a decision will be made about the future for this country."

The potential high speed rail line would connect Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City along a 1000-kilometre corridor, with the train reaching speeds of 300 km per hour in select spots.

Paul Langan, founder of advocacy group High Speed Rail Canada says that addition of high-speed rail in that section of the country would be a "game-changer."

"This is one way for us to catch up to other parts of the world that have been doing it for a half a century," Langan tells CTV News.

"The number one thing about this project is we'd have our own track," he says, referring to VIA’s dependance on the CN railway and the sharing of the tracks with freight trains.

"We can run as many trains as we want, as frequent, as fast as we want, to go from A to B."

An announcement date for the project has not yet been announced.

At the Toronto Global Forum, Anand said the addition of high-speed light rail would improve efficiency, lower carbon emissions and allow for more housing to be built along rail lines.

Langan says that it is too early to speculate on the cost of the project and when high speed rail could be running in Canada, noting the importance of selecting a consortium with a proven track record.

"If we pick a company that does it all the time, that will influence the timeline and that will influence the price," said Langan.

"We don't know till the consortium comes forward, we see the one chosen, and we evaluate their proposal."