Platinum107
Senior Member
Wait, so has the city bought the land yet or was that also not part of the budget 
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Commuter & Regional Rail
- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
archited
Senior Member
@chrisvazquez7, I like your proposed extensions to suburban population areas. I remember my brother bought his first house in Morinville (more affordable than City prices at the time). @Daveography is right -- it would probably encourage expansion of non-City suburban communities but maybe in a good way -- TOD clusters. The only part of your plan that I, personally, find fault with is a modern LRT along Whyte Avenue. This is a City resource founded on historical preservation and it would be nice to have that theme carried through with period-style conveyances (they could certainly connect at many points with LRT).
BASE
Active Member
Based on recent comments I have recently transitioned my thinking from the Capital line eventually reaching YEG to perhaps a more economical and express solution as stated in the origins of this thread.
Assuming CP would be willing to play ball what kind of costs would it look like to build 3kms or so of track (including a bridge over QE2) to tie into the existing rail line. Would also need 5 or 6 stations. I could see the airport paying for their own station and chipping in for a bit of the rail connection. I would think you build the line from YEG to Whyte Avenue to start with stops at YEG, South Common OR Ellerslie, Whitemud, & Whyte Ave. Once high level bridge is upgraded you can take it across there for a stop at downtown.
What kind of costs would this be reasonably?
3KM single track - 100M
Train Bridge over QEII - 50M
2 basic stations - 50M
2 nicer stations (Whyte & YEG) - 100M
Current CP track upgrades and added sidings - 100M
Trains - 100M
I have no clue about costs so I could be wildly off. There would need to be some sort of leasing agreement from CP as well I would assume but just to get things going is the above $500 million a reasonable number? Say the airport covers off 75 million that leaves you with 425 million to find between then City of Edmonton, GOA, & GOC. For what you are getting that seems like a pretty decent bargain compared to what you are getting for similar distance LRT projects.
Assuming CP would be willing to play ball what kind of costs would it look like to build 3kms or so of track (including a bridge over QE2) to tie into the existing rail line. Would also need 5 or 6 stations. I could see the airport paying for their own station and chipping in for a bit of the rail connection. I would think you build the line from YEG to Whyte Avenue to start with stops at YEG, South Common OR Ellerslie, Whitemud, & Whyte Ave. Once high level bridge is upgraded you can take it across there for a stop at downtown.
What kind of costs would this be reasonably?
3KM single track - 100M
Train Bridge over QEII - 50M
2 basic stations - 50M
2 nicer stations (Whyte & YEG) - 100M
Current CP track upgrades and added sidings - 100M
Trains - 100M
I have no clue about costs so I could be wildly off. There would need to be some sort of leasing agreement from CP as well I would assume but just to get things going is the above $500 million a reasonable number? Say the airport covers off 75 million that leaves you with 425 million to find between then City of Edmonton, GOA, & GOC. For what you are getting that seems like a pretty decent bargain compared to what you are getting for similar distance LRT projects.
Garneau2Go
Active Member
Well, a separate line or new LRVs are probably needed for an airport connection anyway seeing as the U2s can only go 80kph max. Even the newer S200s in Calgary top out at 90. In either case you'll probably need a maintenance facility built somewhere on that line, especially if it's not tied into the network.
BASE
Active Member
that’s a good point, I forgot about the maintenance facility. Lots of spots to plunk that along the route.
Could be a bit of a stopgap until high speed rail but unfortunately doesn’t seem to be on the priority list.
Could be a bit of a stopgap until high speed rail but unfortunately doesn’t seem to be on the priority list.
Gronk!
Senior Member
I somehow doubt CP would be willing to play ball because freight is their bread & butter. VIA Rail always has to yield to CN's freight traffic - why would CP be any different?
dkazzed
Active Member
CP is the reason Vancouver’s West Coast Express commuter rail is still only running 5 AM trains in and 5 PM trains out despite more than doubling ridership in its 25 year of operation. CP actually wants to reduce passenger operations to fit in a couple more freight trips.
BASE
Active Member
Would there be room to add track the length of that stretch to avoid conflicts? How busy are the tracks for CP? Anecdotally it doesn’t seem like they are that busy.
Of course adding more track adds cost but at least the route is all set.
Of course adding more track adds cost but at least the route is all set.
chrisvazquez7
Active Member
There are 4 northbounds and 4 southbounds everyday, plus the odd grain or oil train. There is definitely lots of room along the entire ROW to add a second or even third track.
BASE
Active Member
A discussion around airport rail links.
NateTheUrbanist
Active Member
What a shame.
YEG imagineer
Active Member
How I wish Canada had some sort of program like this to improve passenger rail service. All we have is VIA (Really should be called "ONQUE" since the vast majority of service is Ontario and Quebec. And some safety programs through Transport Canada to reduce collisions with vehicles and rail lines by paying for crossing guards, overpasses, etc which benefit mostly freight carriers but a bit of VIA. All areas of Canada could benefit from this. And it could encourage private passenger rail service like Brightline in Florida and Vegas-LA. Think of Edmonton to Calgary, Saskatoon, Jasper, Hay River, NWT, etc
www.railwayage.com
FRA Announces Fed-State National Program, Corridor ID Selections - Railway Age
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on Dec. 8 announced that it has awarded $8.2 billion for 10 passenger rail projects across the country while announcing corridor planning activities that will “impact every region nationwide.”
www.railwayage.com
The_Cat
Senior Member
Looking at the growth patterns on this map:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/fastest-growing-communities-alberta-2021-census-1.6347448
It shows areas around Leduc to Fort Saskatchewan to show the fastest growth. I wonder if a commuter rail line along or near the CP line would be a benefit.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/fastest-growing-communities-alberta-2021-census-1.6347448
It shows areas around Leduc to Fort Saskatchewan to show the fastest growth. I wonder if a commuter rail line along or near the CP line would be a benefit.
northlands
Senior Member
The AB gov't does seem to be pushing ahead with exploring commuter/passenger railway in AB. Today there were two job posting for railway engineers, with the description:
"As part of the team reporting to the Director, Railway and reporting to the Railway Engineering Specialist, you will provide technical and project management support for the feasibility assessments and evaluation for commuter rail services in Alberta as well as collaborate with various agencies regarding railways that interact with provincial highways. "
"As part of the team reporting to the Director, Railway and reporting to the Railway Engineering Specialist, you will provide technical and project management support for the feasibility assessments and evaluation for commuter rail services in Alberta as well as collaborate with various agencies regarding railways that interact with provincial highways. "
husky
Active Member
There are indeed feasibility studies underway.