High-speed rail starts in Ottawa–Montreal. Did Toronto lose?

Alto is the federal Crown corporation building a high-speed line from Toronto to Quebec City: seven stations, at Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval, Trois-Rivières and Quebec. In December it chose Ottawa–Montreal as the first segment, with construction to begin in 2029. Public engagement on the rest, including the route into Toronto, continued this year.

Two things are now argued about here. One is the order: whether a national line should begin at its two smaller ends. The other is Queen’s Park: after the federal government rejected the province’s plan for jets at Billy Bishop in July, CBC reported that Ontario was rethinking its support for the rail project, which needs provincial cooperation on land and on the connections at Union and, possibly, Pearson.

There is a version of this region’s future with a train to Montreal in three hours from Union. There have been versions of it since 1980.

Sources: Transport Canada, Ottawa–Montreal chosen as the starting point · Alto, what’s happening · CBC, Ontario rethinking its support · Wikipedia, Alto