Cadence consortium selected to develop 300 km/h Toronto – Québec high speed railway

CANADA: The Cadence consortium has been selected to co-design and build, finance, operate and maintain a 300 km/h high speed railway between Toronto and Québec City, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced.

Cadence comprises public infrastructure developer CDPQ Infra, engineering firm AtkinsRéalis, operations and maintenance partner Keolis, consultancy Systra, French national operator SNCF Voyageurs and airline Air Canada.

The consortium said its members offer ‘deep roots in Canada and world-class know-how in the design, development and operation of passenger transportation infrastructure’.

Project promoter Alto, renamed from VIA HFR, will now sign a contract with Cadence setting out the terms of the co-development phase of the project. This will see the government spend C$3·9bn over six years from 2024-25, in addition to C$371·8m provided in the 2024 budget.

Alto President & CEO Martin Imbleau said ‘we have assembled a unique group of talents, combining the know-how of a federal crown corporation with the experience of a consortium of world-class private partners. Together, we will build a project that will surpass the highest expectations of Canadians.’

Route

The line will be around 1 000 km long, with dedicated tracks and stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montréal, Laval, Trois-Rivières and Québec City and an end-to-end journey time of 3 h.

The project was initially branded High Frequency Rail, and bidders were required to submit two proposals, one for a 200 km/h route and one for a line with high speed segments.

‘Canada is getting high speed rail’, Trudeau confirmed when the selection of Cadence was announced on February 19. He said it would be Canada’s largest ever infrastructure project, which would ‘transform our economy — drastically shortening commute times for millions of Canadians, turbocharging economic growth, creating thousands of good-paying jobs, improving productivity, and reducing emissions.’