Ottawa train station isn’t ideal location for high-speed rail terminal, Transport Minister says
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon stated that Ottawa's historic downtown train station is not an ideal location for a high-speed rail terminal due to geological concerns and proximity to a past sinkhole site. He did not rule out other downtown locations, while the current Via Rail station is on the city's outskirts. The high-speed rail project, led by Crown corporation Alto, aims to link Toronto and Quebec City by 2029, but faces opposition from rural communities over land expropriation and consultation transparency.
- ▪Ottawa's historic Union Station, built in 1912, has not served as a train station for 60 years and is currently used by the Senate.
- ▪The Transport Minister cited the 2016 Rideau Street sinkhole during light-rail construction as evidence of unstable geology near the downtown station site.
- ▪Alto, the Crown corporation overseeing the project, estimates costs between $60-billion and $90-billion and plans electric trains to run at 320 km/h.
- ▪Twelve Eastern Ontario municipal leaders have called for a halt to project development until rural communities are comprehensively consulted.
- ▪Alto has committed to fair compensation for landowners and infrastructure like underpasses, but rural advocates say concerns remain unaddressed.
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Open this photo in gallery:Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon at a press conference at the Ottawa International Airport on Friday.PATRICK DOYLE/The Canadian PressShareSave for laterPlease log in to bookmark this story.Log InCreate Free AccountThe historic columned train station in downtown Ottawa, currently home to the Senate, is not an ideal location for a high-speed rail terminal, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon says. Speaking with reporters on Friday, the minister pointed out that the building is too close to the Rideau Canal and is just steps away from the site of a massive sinkhole that opened 10 years ago during construction of the city’s light-rail train tunnel.“We saw on the Rideau street cave-in, when the light rail was being built, that the geology of that area can be very…
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