(The Canadian Press circulated the following on October 15.)
OTTAWA — The benefits of high-speed rail service in the Toronto-Montreal corridor have been demonstrated repeatedly and it’s time to stop studying the concept and make some decisions, says a new report for Via Rail.
“The merits of high-speed passenger rail have been clearly established,” says the report, obtained under the Access to Information Act.
“The question is not to ask whether it is worth government support, but rather where it stands with respect to competing mega-projects on the priority list of decision makers. More studies are of no use in this regard.”
The Aug. 14 report was prepared by a consulting engineer for Via Rail’s board of directors as they revisit the issue of a high-speed rail link connecting Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.
The document reviews seven major studies since 1984 that examined the feasibility of building the link, at a cost ranging up to $11.1 billion.
It also reports on a 2004 study looking at a similar link between Calgary and Edmonton, estimated to cost $3.4 billion.
The analysis, by Andre Gravelle of the firm UMA Engineering Ltd., notes that every Canadian study to date has concluded that significant government investment is required to build the infrastructure for high-speed rail, as has been the case in other such projects in Japan, France and elsewhere.
“These studies have also indicated that, like roads and airports, public investment is required to finance the construction of the required infrastructure.”