How the Progressive Public-Private Partnership Model Can Help Make Canadian High-Speed Rail a Reality

Imagine going from Toronto to Québec City and back all in one day without taking to the skies. It's more possible now than ever thanks to the strong political supports from the current federal government. In this commentary, we outline Canada's high-speed rail (HSR) project between the two cities and its progressive public-private partnership (PPP) development model.

Key Highlights
-- The Canadian government is proceeding with the Alto rail project, the largest infrastructure project in Canadian history, using the progressive PPP model.
-- The progressive PPP model sets the Alto project apart from the California HSR project, which has suffered material delays and cost overruns because of numerous change orders.
-- Albeit time-consuming and expensive, the codevelopment phase can have real benefits in derisking the construction phase, and to a lesser degree the operating phase, of a complex project, such as Alto.

"We consider the progressive PPP model to be a potentially superior approach in delivering large and complex projects with risks relatively new or significant to market participants," said Kevin Li, Senior Vice President, Corporate Ratings.