KITCHENER — Ontario Transportation Minister Glen Murray said the government will build a rail link fast enough to take passengers from Kitchener to downtown Toronto in 48 minutes.

While the ambitious plan is still subject to an environmental assessment and a completed business case, Murray said the government plans to build a high-speed train network to connect commuters and intercity travellers without the need to widen Highway 401.

"This creates a high-speed rail corridor along some of the most congested parts of the 401," Murray told a London audience. "It will take 20,000 cars off of the road every day."

Murray revealed more details about a planned high-speed rail link connecting Kitchener to London, Pearson International Airport and downtown Toronto during a briefing with members of the London Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Murray told a radio station he wanted high-speed "bullet" trains in the London to Toronto corridor at some point.

A preliminary study ordered by the Transportation Ministry from the consultancy firm First Class Partnerships found a high speed rail train between London and Toronto could attract as many as six million passengers per year by 2025.

The route has not yet been determined, but Murray said it would use "existing corridors" of rail track, along with sections of newly built track. Station locations and the exact route have not been determined.

An environmental assessment and design process is expected to take between two and four years, with construction, if approved, expected to take another four years.

He said the electrified trains would be able to reach top speeds of 320 km/h, and reach Toronto's Union Station from downtown London in 71 minutes.

He insisted the rail line would create a "perceptible" difference in the amount of traffic motorists encounter on the 401.

"The net cost of this would be about $500 million," Murray said, adding that he believes the service could generate fare revenues that would pay for much of the project's capital cost.

Total costs for track, trains and other infrastructure would run between $2 and $3 billion, according to a study Murray cited during his speech and in subsequent comments to reporters.

"When you look at that as a financing cost over a decade or a decade and a half, that is very, very manageable," he said.

Murray said fares would be "competitive" with other modes of transportation, and a one-way trip between London and Toronto could cost $40. Murray said riders could expect as many as two trains operating in each direction per hour.

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The government insists plans for a high-speed rail network do not pre-empt other promises the government has made regarding GO Transit, including two-way, full-day GO service between Kitchener and Toronto and electrified trains departing every 15 minutes on all GO lines within 10 years.

Funding for the rail line's construction would come from the $29 billion Premier Kathleen Wynne says the government will provide for transit infrastructure over the next 10 years.