the Alto misguided high-speed rail project between Toronto and Montreal

Look. I like high speed trains. I’ve been on the TGV in France and the Shinkansen in Japan. A high speed train in Canada would be a dream come true. About to board a TGV high speed train in France Our Shinkansken train in Kyoto I even like the existing VIA trains, while wishing they were faster and more reliable. I’ve ridden VIA and Amtrak across North America and GO here in Toronto. I like trains. You probably knew that. (You can like them as they are and also and wish they were faster.) But … the federal government is proposing to spend a boatload of money on Alto, a new high speed line between Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Québec, and it’s the wrong project, going to the wrong places. Yes, let’s spend some billions, but let’s fix up what we already have. How about we get back to the way it used to be? Here’s an excerpt of a VIA Rail schedule from 1976. Turbo train #81 leaves downtown Montreal at 08:00 and arrives at Toronto’s Union Station at 12:15. Seven trains a day each way. 4hr…