The Trudeau government will announce plans for a high-speed train linking Quebec City and Toronto in the coming weeks, Radio-Canada has learned.

Proponents of the project hope the train will take passengers from Montreal to Toronto in three hours. By car, it takes about five-and-a-half hours to travel between the two cities.

Sources told Radio-Canada the train will travel 300 kilometres per hour — double the speed of Via Rail’s current trains.

Ottawa announced plans back in 2021 to build what it called a “high-frequency” (HFR) rail corridor with stops in Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Laval and Quebec City. Sources told Radio-Canada the federal government has now decided the Toronto-Quebec City link will be high-speed.

The train would use a newly built, separate electrified track and run frequently. In addition to Quebec City, Montreal and Toronto, it would serve Trois-Rivières, Laval, Ottawa and Peterborough.