The Ontario government will announce Friday it's moving ahead with planning a high-speed rail line from Toronto to Windsor, CBC News has learned. Senior Liberal sources told CBC News the government will begin preliminary design work for the 350-kilometre link and invest
$15 million in a comprehensive environmental assessment. Premier Kathleen Wynne will make the announcement in London on Friday morning, flanked by Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca and Deputy Premier Deb Matthews. Then she'll travel to Kitchener to make the same announcement at noon.
The report recommends a railway that could carry trains travelling 250 km/h and could be built at an estimated
$55 million per kilometre, which would mean an approximate total cost of $19 billion. The report also examines a scenario for trains capable of travelling 300 km/h, but it would cost nearly three times as much ($149 million per km).