In a surprising decision, Air Canada has just joined one of three consortiums that wish to build… a high-frequency train (TGF) between Quebec and Toronto.
The Montreal airline is joining the Cadence group, which includes the Caisse de dépôt, AtkinsRéalis (formerly SNC-Lavalin), Keolis and the Société nationale des chemins de fer (SNCF) of France.
“Connecting with other modes of transportation, such as train or bus, is part of the solutions that [Air Canada] is already developing to offer the most relevant mobility option, responding sustainably to the specific needs of each of its customers,” the carrier said in a statement published on its website last week.
Presenting the TGF as “a fundamental project for Canada and Canadians”, Air Canada maintains that it is able to “contribute to the harmonious integration of a future rail network in the Quebec-Windsor corridor for the benefit of all travellers”.
About-face
However, Air Canada has long opposed a high-speed train financed primarily by public funds, seeing it as a form of unfair competition. It must be said that the Montreal-Toronto route, which the carrier operates about twenty times a day in each direction, is strategic for it.
In 1993, a study that Air Canada commissioned in conjunction with Canadian Pacific indicated that a high-speed rail line had the potential to reduce demand for flights in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor by up to 45%.
Ten years later, the Air Transport Association of Canada, of which Air Canada was a member at the time, opposed public funding of the JetTrain, a high-speed train developed by Bombardier.
But by 2024, it would no longer be socially acceptable to take such a position, notes Paul Langan, founder of Ontario’s High Speed Rail Canada.
“Trying to control”
“Air Canada […] probably thought it was better to get on board and try to control [the rail project],” he said. “It’s not worth spending money lobbying against a project that has a reasonable chance of seeing the light of day.”
Reached by Le Journal , Air Canada’s vice-president of communications, Christophe Hennebelle, did not want to say more about the company’s intentions.
As for Francis Labbé, spokesperson for CDPQ Infra, the Caisse subsidiary responsible for the project, he refused to explain why the institution had chosen to recruit Air Canada to its team.
Paul Langan notes that the HSR is less likely to convince travellers to abandon planes for rail when compared to high-speed rail, which could partly explain Air Canada’s decision.
The expert also points out that last year France banned flights between Paris and three cities already well served by the TGV: Lyon, Bordeaux and Nantes.
“This must have contributed to Air Canada’s interest in the TGF project,” he believes.
Source- Le Journal de Montréal
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