A picture of me at the open house
Event Unfolding
On February 12th, I made my way over to Laval University in hopes to learn more about the Alto HSR project. The event was easy to get to, being steps away from the Université Laval stop on Métrobus lines 800 and 801
At the beginning, we were invited over to a welcoming table with an attendant who gave us Alto pamphlets, an Alto branded pen, as well as inviting us to sign up to the Alto newsletter. After this table, we found ourselves in a room where we could find eight kiosks, All with their own specific topic about the Alto Project.
Each kiosk had a table, a screen, a poster, and 1 to 3 employees. Each kiosk also had a brief presentation made up of about three slides which described the kiosk’s topic. To each presentation was associated a 3 to 10 minute speech, although most of the time, all they did was answer to the questions asked.
My opinion on the event
The event was well structured, the employees were often able to answer the questions asked, excepted when we wanted details. All that was presented was the big, pretty numbers that had little to know meaning for now. Some numbers like 24 million yearly riders in 2055, or another slide where was written ‘700 000 students’ without any context.
It was easy to see that this was more of a public consultation than an information session because multiple times, employees took notes of what people were saying. Many kiosks asked us about what we thought about the execution of the project. At the end of the consultation, we were instructed to fill out a survey about our experience. After submitting it, I spoke with the person that turned them in and she told me the everyday, they have to submit a report about what people said and thought about the project.
In the end, it is easy to figure out they’re collecting data, but I will surely be attending the next information sessions which are supposed to be near the end of 2026, beginning of 2027.
Studied corridor
What Alto is
Alto is an ambitious project that is essential for Canada, that should bring more money into circulation. As said further up, the project seems unsure because many informations are not known yet, but I was still able to get answers to some questions I asked.
Alto is a train that will cut travel times by half in the Quebec City - Toronto corridor, with top speed being over 300km/h. On the corridor, there will be a total of 72 daily departures, although the start and end of those trips aren’t decided yet. They plan on being competitive with the bus, so that means a Quebec City to Montreal ticket could cost about 50$.
In stations, we’ll be allowed to wait on platform, but seats will only be available to purchase by booking them, according to them, though many have said they want to be a turn up and get on type system. On board the trains, the food service should be done via cart, like on Via, though many are opposed to it in favor of a Café car, like what Amtrak does to the south.
There will be seven stops; Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Montreal, Trois Rivieres, and Québec City, without possibility to replace Laval for the Montreal Airport and certainly no station in Kingston, even though citizens want one. In each city, the station location hasn’t been decided yet, but we should know them by early 2027.
The first phase is slated to start construction in 2029 and will be between Ottawa and Montreal. It should open to public by 2037, if the project stays on track.
Building times according to Alto