The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday, Nov. 1, edition that Via Rail's planned high-frequency rail (HFR) line from Toronto to Quebec City is slated for completion in the mid-2030s. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post reports that Via HFR chief executive officer Martin Imbleau has been tasked with a building a new set of dedicated tracks between Toronto and Quebec City.
Mr. Imbleau says, "One of the constraints is to get in and get out of the cities in a faster way."
The existing tracks in and around the Greater Toronto Area are largely owned by regional transport authority Metrolinx and Canadian National Railway, with little room for more lines in a dense downtown. Mr. Imbleau says: "It's not about frequency only. It's about being fast. It's about being reliable." While stops in Peterborough, Ont., Ottawa and Trois-Rivieres, Que., are mandated, there could be express trains that whiz through those cities without stopping, he says -- as well as trains that do serve those communities.
"Imagine being able to (do) Peterborough-Toronto or Trois-Rivieres-Quebec in around an hour and 15 minutes. That changes completely how you commute between a region and a city."
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