Updated to include:

• bids received
• procurement timeline
• comment from the Government of Canada

The Government of Canada is in July (2023) expected to announce shortlisted firms which responded to the RFQ for the High Frequency Rail (HFR) P3 project, IJGlobal has learned.

“It is expected that the qualified respondents will be identified this summer and the RFP phase will begin in the fall of 2023, with a private partner ultimately being selected for contract award in late summer 2024,” a government spokesperson said.

The procuring authority is currently evaluating 4 bids with a view to shortlisting 3 proponents for the DBFO of the rail, the spokesperson added.

According to a source, out of multiple bidders that responded to the RFQ issued in February, 2 of the teams comprised:

• John Laing, Fengate and Bechtel Capital
• CDPQ, SNC-Lavalin and Atkins Global

The HFR project kicked-off in March 2022 with an RFEOI, which invited interest from more than 50 parties, as revealed by IJGlobal.

It will be the largest rail transport infrastructure project undertaken by Canada in decades and will transform intercity passenger travel between its major cities on the east coast.

The network will create  routes between Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City, providing new services to communities and new stations in targeted locations.

It will consist of more than 1,000km of rail network of mainly electrified tracks in the Quebec City-Windsor corridor. The operations of new HFR services and local services will be integrated for the entire corridor.

The project will have a concession of between 30-50 years with the potential for new HFR services by developing a railway with upgraded modifications, including:

• rights-of-way
• tracks
• structures
• stations
• rail systems

Advisers to the procuring authority:

• EY – financial
• Canada Infrastructure Bank – financial (and potential investor)
• Arup – technical
• Aecom – technical