Ottawa’s original Union Station considered as possible hub for Canada’s first high-speed rail
Alto’s consultation includes Ottawa’s 1912 Union Station and the current Via Rail terminal as possible high-speed rail termini, with decisions and funding to follow a multi-year process.
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By Torontoer Staff
Ottawa’s 1912 downtown Union Station, now serving as the temporary Senate chamber, is being evaluated as a potential terminus for the proposed Toronto–Montreal–Quebec City high-speed rail line. Alto, the federal agency leading the project, released consultation materials this week that show the Ottawa segment and list both the old Union Station and the current Via Rail terminal as possible end points.
Alto says station locations will be judged primarily on travel-time and feasibility criteria. The agency is beginning consultations while its CEO, Martin Imbleau, promotes a phased plan that would start with a Montreal–Ottawa link and expand to Toronto and Quebec City.
Sites on the shortlist
The historic Union Station sits beside the Rideau Canal within easy walking distance of Parliament Hill, the National Arts Centre, the Rideau Centre and the Chateau Laurier. Its Beaux-Arts façade and grand interior have hosted major national meetings and, since recent renovations, the Senate while Parliament’s Centre Block is restored. The present Via Rail station, built in glass and steel in the 1960s, is southeast of the downtown core and four light-rail stops from the centre of the city.
It needs to be feasible, it needs to be fast. Your journey time has to be reduced significantly. So, you don’t position your station because it’s a tourist attraction. The one key location factor is ensuring that your journey time is as short as possible to reach your destination.
Martin Imbleau, CEO, Alto
Local business and civic leaders have voiced clear interest in a downtown terminus. Advocates argue a central station would improve convenience for travellers and help revive a downtown core that has struggled to rebound as office occupancy patterns change.
We would love it to be downtown. It would create a whole new sense of vibrancy and catalyse the downtown.
Sueling Ching, CEO, Ottawa Board of Trade
Absolutely, the opportunity for that building, right in the heart of downtown Ottawa, to be a hub of some kind is huge.
Mark Sutcliffe, Mayor of Ottawa
Benefits and trade-offs
- Downtown Union Station: immediate central access, heritage appeal and proximity to cultural and government destinations, but potential constraints on rail alignments, construction complexity and competing uses during the Centre Block renovations.
- Current Via Rail station: easier integration with existing intercity infrastructure and potentially simpler construction, but less convenient access to the downtown core and more transfers for travellers.
- Route choices: the Peterborough–Ottawa segment shows two options, a northern line that crosses harder rock formations and a southern option that is longer and would add travel time.
Alto officials have said station siting must balance journey time reductions with construction feasibility and cost. The northern Peterborough route would involve cutting through Canadian Shield rock, which raises excavation challenges and cost risk. The southern option would be less geologically demanding but could lengthen travel times.
Heritage, planning and timelines
Ottawa’s Union Station last carried passenger trains in 1966, when service moved to the modern terminal as part of a city redesign led by French planner Jacques Gréber. The old building has since served a variety of governmental and conference functions and recently underwent work to become the Senate’s temporary chamber.
The building is stunning and it has some architectural integrity that would give it an enormous amount of cachet. Logically there is some history there that suggests it could be a stunningly beautiful place.
Ross Meredith, general manager, Westin Ottawa
The National Capital Commission said it is excited by the project and open to collaboration, but stopped short of endorsing any specific reuse of the downtown station. Alto will use public consultation and technical study to make recommendations, with a final funding decision by the federal government expected in 2029.
Alto has estimated the total project cost at between $60 billion and $90 billion, with some private funding possible. If the government approves funding in 2029, construction could start that year and the first segment might open in the late 2030s, according to the agency’s timeline.
What to watch next
Consultations will refine route options, station siting and cost estimates. Key technical questions include tunnelling and alignment through difficult terrain, integration with existing transit, and how a heritage building could be adapted for modern high-speed rail operations. Alto has not committed to a stop at Toronto’s Union Station, saying only that a station would be located in the vicinity.
For neighbourhoods near the Rideau Canal, a return of intercity rail to the downtown would bring both opportunities for economic activity and challenges related to construction and preservation. The consultation period is the point at which community voices, business interests and heritage authorities can most influence the outcome.
Decisions over the next three years will determine whether Ottawa’s iconic railway building could once again welcome passengers, and whether the city’s downtown will be reshaped by a new national transport link.
OttawaHigh-speed railUnion StationAltoTransport
