Premier wants high-speed rail built along Ontario’s Hwy. 401 corridor

Doug Ford says he agrees with a proposal from the mayors of Kingston and South Frontenac to run Alto along the 401. CTV’s Dylan Dyson reports.

The proposed high-speed rail line connecting Ottawa and Toronto should be built along the Highway 401 corridor, and “maybe make a stop in Kingston,” according to Premier Doug Ford.

Alto is currently studying the seven-stop, 1,000-kilometre proposed high-speed rail line that would connect Toronto and Quebec City, with stops in Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Montreal and Trois-Rivières. Politicians, farmers and residents have raised concerns about the potential route of the Alto line through eastern Ontario, worried that land may be expropriated for the high-speed rail line.

The Crown corporation is looking at two routes connecting Toronto and Ottawa, with a southern route and a northern route between Peterborough and Ottawa. The proposed southern route would travel just north of Belleville, Kingston and Brockville.

Last month, council in Kingston voted in favour of a motion to express support for a southern route built along Highway 401 around the South Frontenac and the Kingston region, with a stop in Kingston.

Speaking with reporters in Brockville, Ont., on Monday, Ford was asked where he would like to see the rail line built.

“I agree 100 per cent, follow the 401 corridor,” Ford said.

“Don’t start taking farmers’ land and everything else out; just follow the 401 corridor, it makes sense. And maybe make a stop in Kingston, because it’s a little too weighted on the other side of the border. They have a few stops, but we need a couple more stops here in Ontario.”

The first phase of the Alto line will be built between Ottawa and Montreal. There are three proposed stops in Ontario and four in Quebec.

Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands Rideau Lakes MPP Steve Clark has raised concerns about the proposed southern route, saying he shares concerns “about the harm it would cause to property owners, farms, sensitive environmental habitat” and emergency service response.

“For those reasons, I do not support Alto’s southern route,” Clark said in a statement on Feb. 27.

“I encourage the proponents and federal government to find an alternative route that will not cause such significant impact to these communities and the families who have worked hard to build them for generations.”

Alto said no route has been selected for the high-speed line, adding where possible, the route would follow existing transportation corridors.

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