I would add that, in the case of the Quebec City-Gatineau corridor, two trains a day are sufficient. It is entirely possible to operate only during the day. However, if we did the same thing with Canadian National and Canadian Pacific in Vancouver, that would kill the western Canadian economy. It is as simple as that. I do not mean do be pessimistic, but I am from there and I know how things work.
That said, with regard to VIA Rail and the corridor, a study concluded that it would cost $11 billion to renovate, rebuild or construct new sections of the line, as they have done in France, Germany, Italy or Spain. This means $11 billion for the corridor between Quebec City and Toronto. The brilliant folks at Transport Canada immediately added another $7 million in interest charges to frighten people. The air transport lobby took care of the rest and the project was shelved. However, $11 billion is a completely reasonable price for a high-speed train. European and Asian countries routinely pay such sums.
In the case of that corridor, the position defended by Transport 2000 Quebec, our affiliate, is that all money invested would be paid back. In the case of Paris-Lyon, they thought it would be paid back in 12 years, but it took only eight. In the case of the first shinkansen, in Japan, the new tokaido line, it took only four years to pay for all construction and all other costs.
It would be beneficial not only in terms of social, environmental and economic aspects, but it would also be profitable, in certain cases. I think the Montreal-Toronto corridor would prove a good case in point. Then again, we could also take a more gradual approach, as they did in Sweden, where they progressively improved the trains and infrastructure, and where they travel at speeds of 125 miles per hour.