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Earlier this week, High Speed Rail Canada released a January 2011 study that assessed high-speed rail service in the Ontario-Quebec corridor.

The study was conducted by EcoTrain — a group of international consulting firms comprising Dessau, Deutsche Bahn International, KPMG, MMM Group and Wilbur Smith Associates — on behalf of the Ministries of Transportation for Canada, Ontario and Quebec. EcoTrain analyzed the potential of operating diesel trains along the corridor at top speeds of 200 kph, or electric trains at speeds up to 300 kph.

Among the findings:

• High-speed rail could share tracks with commuter-rail networks in Montreal and Toronto. In other major urban areas, new tracks could be built within existing railway rights of way. Outside of major cities, high-speed rail service would run on exclusive tracks built parallel to existing tracks. High-speed trains would not share track with freight trains, except along short segments in the Toronto area.

• The system would serve stations in Quebec City, Trois-Riviéres, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, London and Windsor.

• High-speed rail would replace existing corridor VIA Rail services. A conventional regional VIA Rail service could provide service to corridors that connect to the HSR network

• A system featuring 300 kph technology would attract 11.1 million passengers and generate $1.3 billion (2009 CAD) in revenue in 2031; a system featuring 200 kph technology would attract 10.2 million passengers and generate $1.2 billion (2009 CAD) in revenue in 2031.

• The Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto segment would generate 56 percent to 57 percent of the total corridor ridership and the Quebec-Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto segment would generate 78 percent to 80 percent of the total corridor ridership.

• It would cost $18.9 billion (in Canadian dollars) to build the 200 kph system and $21.3 billion (in Canadian dollars) to build the 300 kph system.

High Speed Rail Canada is a “national citizens group dedicated to educating the Canadian public on the benefits of high speed trains in Canada,” according to the organization’s website.