Canadian police have charged two residents with an al Qaeda-linked plot to "carry out a terrorist attack" against a passenger train.

The Royal Canadian Mountain Police on Monday named the two accused as Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser, from the Montreal and Toronto areas respectively

"While the RCMP believed that these individuals had the capacity and intent to carry out these criminal acts, there was no imminent threat to the general public, rail employees, train passengers or infrastructure," the police said in a statement.