Budget Watchdog Says Alto Rail Construction Could Cost More than Ottawa Predicts
The budget watchdog says tunnels and elevated track drive the estimate above Ottawa’s figures by tens of billions of dollars.
- On Thursday, the Parliamentary Budget Office released a report projecting the Alto high-speed rail corridor could cost between $75 billion and $113 billion, exceeding official government estimates of $60 billion to $90 billion.
- The Alto project aims to connect Toronto and Quebec City, with construction through the Canadian Shield presenting significant engineering challenges that drive cost uncertainty.
- International evidence indicates tunnel construction adds $169 million per kilometre while elevated structures add $153 million, reflecting what the report calls 'considerable uncertainty inherent in large-scale rail infrastructure projects.'
- Members of the Bloc have raised concerns the project is being rushed without proper consideration, while the Conservative party called the proposal a costly 'boondoggle.'
- Liberal Transport Minister Steve MacKinnon defended the project as a way to 'build a strong economy,' though adding a Kingston stop would increase cost and geographic complexity.
51 Articles
51 Articles
Feds ‘should run as fast as' they can from Alto project, say opposition MPs, as PBO estimates construction alone could cost $113-billion
'There is no remotely believable scenario under which Alto will break even. So, the best thing to do is to stop spending taxpayer dollars on it,' says Conservative MP Scott Reid.
PBO says Alto high-speed rail could cost up to $113 billion, well above Ottawa’s estimate
The Parliamentary Budget Officer warned in a report released Thursday that building the Alto high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City could cost $75 billion to $113 billion — up to $23 billion more than the $60-billion-to-$90-billion range cited by Ottawa and the Crown corporation leading the project.
Budget Watchdog Warns Alto Rail May Exceed Ottawa’s Cost Estimates
The federal budget watchdog says construction of the proposed high-speed rail line between Toronto and Quebec City could cost up to $23 billion more than the federal government’s current projections. The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) issued a report on Oct. 1 that estimates the projected expenses associated with the federal government’s proposed Alto high-speed rail line along the Toronto-Quebec City corridor. Alto, a federal …
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