Subhead:In Peterborough, residents are as divided as rural properties set to be split — with landowners warning of devastating land grabs and environmental risks, while urban supporters argue the project is vital for faster transportation.# YouTube-embed:Ka248ZdsYdA Emotions ran high inside the McDonnel Street Community Centre this week as residents gathered to learn more about “Alto,” the proposed 1,000-kilometre high-speed electric rail line that would connect Toronto to Quebec City at speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. With an estimated cost of $90 billion, it’s being billed as a generational infrastructure project expected to serve 18 million riders annually. The federally driven plan is already drawing sharp criticism in communities like Peterborough, where portions of the proposed corridor will inevitably cut through farmland, wetlands, and private property. “It’s generational land. It’s livelihoods of people,” said one business owner whose northern Rice Lake tourist-based operation sits squarely in the study path. “I’m nauseous. I feel like I’ve been kicked in the gut,” said another. For some, the concern is deeply personal; for others, they’re sold on convenience. Century farms could be severed. Resorts and hunting properties may face expropriation. One homeowner who recently built a retirement house along the water said the prospect of high-speed trains racing through his backyard is devastating. “It breaks my heart,” he said. “We were going to spend the rest of our lives enjoying nature… and now I’m going to see this monstrosity ripping by at 300 kilometres per hour.”