High-speed rail is long overdue; Ottawa should go big
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Green Economy Network

Green Economy Network

High-speed rail is long overdue

The federal government is expected to announce a high-speed rail project between Quebec City and Toronto, CBC reports.

 

Canadians could travel from Toronto to Montreal in three hours — two and a half hours faster than driving.

 

That announcement is long overdue. Peer countries like Japan have left Canada in the dust as they built high-speed rail lines years ago. Even less wealthy countries such as Turkey and Poland have found the resources to make these essential infrastructure investments well before Canada.

 Roughly 18 million Canadians live in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. A high-speed rail connecting them is a no-brainer for reducing emissions, creating jobs, and granting Ontario and Quebec residents the freedom to move.

 

Green Economy Network has been at the forefront in the push for these investments. Our common platform urges the federal government to invest $52 billion over a 5-year period in clean transportation to capture the benefits of high-speed rail:

 

  • 55% ($5.8 billion annually) for building the Windsor-Quebec City corridor;
  • 17% ($1.8 billion annually) for a HSR link between Calgary and Edmonton;
  • 27% ($2.8 billion annually) for a Vancouver-Seattle-Portland project.

 

Getting these rail lines built is a climate and jobs priority. Expanding the high-speed

rail line as far as Windsor and launching projects in Western Canada are vital next steps.

 

Implementation of high-speed rail across Canada’s busiest corridors would cut emissions by 23.5 megatons over a 30-year period.

More public leadership, less private delays

No contract has been awarded for this project so far, but three consortiums are bidding. 

 

The federal government must prepare to take the lead if these rail projects fail to meet their goals and benchmarks. Private-led models are beset by delays and bad results. The federal government must develop the public sector capacity to deliver and maintain these projects when the private sector falls short. Democratic control and accountability must replace opaque and unreliable private development. 

 

Canadians deserve a quality rail network for the 21st century. Democratic investment and oversight should lead the way.

 

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