We want to wish all supporters of  high-speed rail in Canada have a fantastic holiday season. We know it is a difficult time with Covid-19 but we will get out of this and move forward safely in 2022. While the state of passenger rail in Canada is bleak regarding high-speed trains, we will continue to push for Canada to play catch up to the rest of the world.   VIA Rail Canada's proposed $4 billion dollar HFR plan and  the new Siemens trainsets cannot even obtain the low end of high speed rail speeds of 250km. These types of decisions set Canada back decades. Joyeuses fêtes/ Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones.

A new video of the CN Turbo train which ran between Toronto and Montreal in 3hrs and 59minutes.

It is hard to believe that VIA Rail’s $4billion dollar passenger rail plan has gotten this far in the process of consideration by Transport Canada and the federal Liberal government. The Liberal’s pre-election budget is being presented March 19th, and it is judgement day for VIA Rail’s flawed plan. New readers to our site should read the previous articles linked at the bottom of this page to learn more about this plan and why it is problematic. This 4 billion dollar debacle has VIA trains travelling at 1975 era speeds through sparsely-populated areas on an abandoned Ontario-Quebec Railway line. (Toronto - Peterborough - Ottawa). Then the line travels on to Montreal - Trois-Rivières - Québec City. Sadly, taxpayers who would fund it, cannot comment or see the proposal before the Liberal government potentially approves it. Here are some facts that should alert the public and the government to the fact that this plan is seriously flawed. FARES NOT KNOWN Amazingly VI...

Guest Blog by  By James Cobban, The implementation of High-Speed Rail in Canada is necessarily subject to politics.  Canada is the most decentralized federal state in the world. This has had a major impact on inter-provincial trade, which is still shackled by prohibitions such as restrictions on carrying alcoholic beverages across provincial borders despite Section 121 of Canada's Constitution Act, 1867, which says, “All Articles of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of any one of the Provinces shall, from and after the Union, be admitted free into each of the other Provinces.”   Also Canada is the only country in the world which does not have a national highway system, an accidental result of the fact that in 1867 all long distance travel was by railway and roads were only used to get people to and from the railroad. For the deployment of High-Speed Rail in Canada the central issue is that there is only one route where   economic factors clear...

Paul Langan, Founder High Speed Rail Canada Interview on February 6th, 2018 with CJOB Radio Winnipeg.

Paul Langan, the founder of High Speed Rail Canada will be a guest on 680 CJOB radio in Winnipeg on Tuesday February 6th, 2018 at 7:35 AM eastern time​. He will talk high speed rail with show hosts Greg Mackling and Brett Megarry. Here is a link to the station. https://globalnews.ca/radio/cjob/

It seems that ever since VIA Rail Canada was formed in 1977 the same problems and grim realities continue to exist. Without any legislation to support their existence, VIA Rail seemed doomed from the start. Then came the disastrous decision to privatize our national railroad  CN Rail in 1995. There were no safeguards in place to protect VIA Rail our passenger rail service provider.  CN wasted no time in ensuring VIA was treated poorly: running second fiddle to freight operations. It did not matter if it was the Liberals or the Tories in power federally. Each party has made draconian cuts to VIA's funding. VIA Rail has done little to help its cause over the years with ridiculous high pricing and an arrogant management style that has made them unaccountable and out of touch with the public. The auditor general report identified deficiencies in VIA's project management systems and practices. Today the status in Canada of our national passenger rail company VIA Ra...

Transport Futures: Intercity Travel Conference November 27, 2017 – DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, Toronto, Ontario www.transportfutures.ca/intercity Can Ontario’s intercity bus and rail services compete with car and air travel? Find out at the Transport Futures Intercity Travel Conference where international and local experts will discuss challenges and opportunities from several perspectives: history and culture; planning and infrastructure; technology and interoperability; customer service and demand; modal competition and safety; finance and funding; risk and delivery; governance and politics. Together we'll explore how multiple services can coexist efficiently, fulfil different functions, build a cohesive transportation network and make effective use of limited tax dollars. With provincial and municipal elections taking place in 2018, the time to discuss intercity travel is now! Our confirmed speakers include: · Michael Schabas, Partner, First Class Partnerships UK ...

CBC - On the Money TV segment on High Speed Rail in Ontario Peter Armstrong of the CBC show On the Money hosted a segment on the recent high speed rail study announcement in Ontario. Peter interviewed Paul Langan,founder of High Speed Rail Canada about the future possibility of high speed rail. To listen to the interview CLICK HERE .

CBC's Craig Norris interviews Paul Langan, founder of High Speed Rail Canada on the Ontario government plan for high speed rail in Ontario. CLICK HERE   to listen to the whole interview aired on May 24th, 2017.

It is hard not to by cynical when the Ontario provincial government announces there we be yet another study on high speed rail in Ontario. This one costs $15 million. The David Collenette HSR study is the 22nd  study that has not produced any results so are things any different this time around. The Wynne government has announced the study today on the Friday of a long weekend. This is definitely not a preferred time to have a press conference. Governments usually reserve this time for bad news or news or when they cannot get any high profile media. PRESS CONFERENCE FREE DOWNLOAD Here is the press conference with Premier Kathleen Wynne and Steve Del Duca in London Ontario today. https://archive.org/details/May19HighSpeedRailPressConference COSTS OF HIGH SPEED RAIL 1996 - 2017 COMPARISON The David Collenette study recommends that a full environmental assessment be done and suggests two different cost scenarios depending on speeds. 300 km/h at a cost of $149 million/km...

GLOBE & MAIL- Bill Curry - High-speed rail lines in Alberta and Southern Ontario are the types of projects that could be funded through the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the federal Infrastructure Minister said during a day-long debate over the government’s $35-billion plan. Amarjeet Sohi defended Ottawa’s approach on Thursday during a debate on the proposed bank triggered by an NDP motion that called for legislation creating the bank to be removed from the Liberals’ omnibus budget bill. The government said it will oppose the NDP motion when it comes to a vote on Tuesday. Read the whole article here. 

Lorne Perry Collection - Turbo Train You have waited long enough! Visit our Turbo Train page and click on the Lorne Perry Collection to see these rare professionally shot photos. While you are on the page check out the world's largest collection of video and audio of the Turbo Train. For people wanting to bring back the Turbo Train, no problem, the original Equipment Diagrams are included on the Turbo Page also. http://www.highspeedrailcanada.com/p/uac-cn-turbo-train-archives.html

High Speed Rail Canada is releasing to the public the an updated list of the previous 22 studies that been completed relating to Ontario high speed rail. WireService.ca Press Release (04/27/2017) - High Speed Rail Canada is Canada's only advocacy groups dedicated to promoting the modernization of passenger rail in Canada. High Speed Rail Canada is the authority on previous high speed rail historical studies in Ontario and Alberta. They are announcing they have updated the Ontario list and have included links to 3 more Ontario high speed rail studies that were previously not available to the public. The studies added to the list are:  1990 - Sprintor, Pre-feasibility Study, Windsor-Quebec Rail Corridor, ABB Canada Inc 1990 The Canadian TGV Project - Bombardier, GEC, Alstom 1991 Groupe de travail train rapide QuebecOntario Rapport Final  High Speed Rail Canada's mandate is to educate people on the benefits of modern passenger rail. They do it through ...

It is interesting when I look at all the forums, social media and wonder to myself, why in this modern era of information technology is there such a low number of people advocating on a national level for better inter-city passenger rail service? There are groups that fight locally to bring back/improve passenger rail service. Here are a few examples:  Southwestern Ontario groups, Algoma Passenger Rail and Passenger Rail for Vancouver Island . Nationally there are just two groups. Transport Action Canada (and its chapters) have been around since 1977 fighting for improved passenger rail service. They are long time supporters of VIA Rail Canada. The group is aging and are in need of new members so they can carry out more advocacy. Join them. It only costs $30. a year. High Speed Rail Canada is the group I formed in 2008. It was formed to educate people on high speed rail. So many Canadians think HSR is futuristic. Yet HSR has been around for over a half a century ...

We wanted to let you know that when our free e-newsletter comes out tomorrow it will include a link to a rare Turbo Train 1 minute b/w silent video. So if you are interested in viewing the video, please sign up for our e-newsletter on the front page of our blog. We only ask for your name and email. Here is the direct link to our sign up page. Turbo Train Video Clip Link Included in Our E-Newsletter

  ( notice the footers for catenary masts for electrification of the line when exiting Pearson ) Perhaps it is fitting that the modernization of passenger rail service happens on the North Main Line(NML) running from London - Kitchener - Toronto. The Waterloo Region and Toronto are the leaders in Canada in attracting technology companies. The Innovation Corridor has been created. Unfortunately the passenger rail transportation between the two areas is painfully slow with 2 hours using Go Transit or ridiculously high priced with VIA Rail ($74.45 Kitchener-Toronto). There have been some substantial investments and successes in updating the NML corridor since the FCP World consultants released their 2014 pre-feasibility study about possible high speed trains on the line. The line has long been ignored by the previous owner CN and does require a substantial financial investment. The good news is GO Transit did buy the line between Georgetown-Kitchener and have also come t...

High Speed Rail for Guelph, ON? GUELPH MERCURY - A proposed high-speed rail project from Windsor to Toronto through London and Waterloo might stop in Guelph, but only if the city agrees to costly rail upgrades including dealing with the city’s numerous at-grade crossings http://www.guelphmercury.com/news-story/6687999-guelph-high-speed-rail-stop-hinges-on-major-upgrades-at-level-crossings/

Paul Langan, founder of High Speed Rail Canada, is inviting anyone in the Montreal area to come out to a social meet and greet on Sunday December 6th from 6:00pm-7:30pm at  McLean’s Pub - 1210 Rue Peel, Montreal, QC. It is a free event. Here is the poster LINK .

High Speed Rail Canada has written a critique of recent media reports from VIA RAIL CEO Mr. Desjardins-Siciliano about plans for increased passenger rail service in the Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal corridor. WireService.ca Press Release (11/09/2015) - High Speed Rail Canada is Canada's only advocacy groups dedicated to promoting the modernization of passenger rail in Canada. High Speed Rail Canada's mandate is to educate people on the benefits of modern passenger rail. They do it through their website http://www.highspeedrailcanada.com , Youtube channel, Facebook, Twitter ;@HSRCanada and public educational sessions. Mr. Desjardins-Siciliano has stated that VIA RAIL is looking at building dedicated track for passenger rail service between Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal. He has stated that it would not be high speed. Paul Langan, Founder of High Speed Rail Canada states," With the new federal Liberal government we are at a pivotal time in passenger rail history in this country....