(CBC Ottawa posted the following article on its website on July 7.)
OTTAWA — Via Rail’s board chair, Jean Pelletier, says he’s optimistic that the federal cabinet will approve plans for high-speed trains in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor, which includes Ottawa.
Jean Pelletier says he was pleased by comments Monday morning by the transport minister, David Collenette, who said work could begin this fall on high-speed rail.
The project would cost $3 billion and take seven years to finish.
The potential payoff is that high-speed-train travel could take a lot of traffic off Toronto-area highways.
The train trip from Toronto to Montreal would be trimmed from its current four-and-a-half hours to just three hours.
The federal cabinet must still approve the plan, but Pelletier says he’s confident that will happen.
Pelletier says the cost of the new tracks for the trains would be split between taxpayers and rail users.