Association of Quebec farmers releases study challenging costs of high-speed rail

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The study conducted by Vision Transport and agricultural group Union des producteurs agricoles say these savings could be made by modernizing existing tracks.

A new study suggests it would be possible to build a rail link between Quebec City and Toronto at a fraction of the estimated cost and environmental impact of the high-speed train project being developed by the Crown corporation Alto, although it would be slower.

The study conducted by Vision Transport and agricultural group Union des producteurs agricoles say these savings could be made by modernizing existing tracks.

The study was conducted by Vincent Duguay, a master’s student in research at the École nationale d’administration publique, and Pierre DuSablon, an expert with extensive experience in the rail industry.

It examines two scenarios: a route serving the same 22 stations currently served by Via Rail, and an express route with stops only in major cities.

The authors say a modernized route serving intermediate stations, such as Saint-Hyacinthe or Drummondville, would reduce this time to six hours and 40 minutes, while an express route would take five hours and 50 minutes.

Alto’s high-speed rail proposal promises to connect Quebec City to Toronto in 4 hours and 30 minutes.

Currently, it takes eight hours and 40 minutes by train to travel from Quebec City to Toronto by rail, which is slightly longer than it takes by car.

The study’s authors say their proposed project, while slower, would still be faster than travelling by car.

“Farmers don’t want to have their land expropriated only to find out, in the end, that it doesn’t happen because it’s going to cost too much,” UPA president Martin Caron said. “So, can we look at other alternatives that will have much less of an impact and be much less expensive?”

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