Teamsters Canada Rail Conference

There is enough people along the Quebec-Windsor corridor to make it worthwhile to implement a fast train, according to the head of the French railroad society.

Pascal Lupo, CEO of the Paris-based SNCF, said Friday the success of such a rail line would depend on the strategies put forward by the cities along the route that are home to 18 million people.

"Conditions are good and results could be interesting because of the distances, demographics and the way the population is spread out along the corridor," Lupo said in Quebec City, where he praised the benefits of a fast train before a chamber of commerce.

Lupo's railroad society is studying the economic, social and environmental benefits of a high-speed rail system for a coalition of six Canadian cities along the Quebec-Windsor corridor.

Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume, who is leading the coalition, is promoting this French-style very fast train using dedicated tracks. The train would travel at least 320 km/h.

"The high speed train won't truly be revolutionary, the very fast train will. Can you imagine going from Quebec City to Montreal (250 kilometres) in 55 minutes? That's a revolution," Labeaume said Friday.

He added he is willing to go on to "evangelize" the rest of the country to convince governments to invest in this type of train.

"We are lagging behind and it's about time we make a move," he said.

But not all politicians agree with Labeaume.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest wants a high-speed train that would use conventional rails, and thus, would not be as fast.

The governments of Quebec and Ontario, along with Ottawa, are spending about $3 million for an engineering consortium to update a 1995 study on the high-speed train and make new recommendations.

The French study will be handed in to the six mayors before the end of the year.

Lupo didn't want to reveal what will be in it, but said the implementation of very fast trains, known as TGV in France, totally changed the face of the country.

"No one in drives 500 kilometres to somewhere, unless you are carrying a big antique wardrobe," Lupo said.

The French SNCF operates a fleet of more than 1,000 very fast trains covering nearly 2,000 kilometres across Europe.