chrisvazquez7
Active Member
I was fanaticizing about future rail infrastructure in Edmonton, like I do on a daily basis, and I was thinking about a solution to the High Level Bridge being inadequate for heavy rail. Now one option would be to rehabilitate or replace the HLB. But I was thinking of another solution. What about a new river crossing? Where could we build a new rail alignment that wouldn't greatly affect existing neighbourhoods or parks? Here is the solution I came up with.
www.google.com
This could work for HSR or conventional regional trainsets. In my utopian fantasy, there would be a mix of HSR, regional/intercity and commuter lines all using the same tunnels/bridge. With some fancy signaling, you could have a significant amount of capacity with just two tracks.
So here's a breakdown of what I'm thinking.
First to be built would be the Strathcona Station on the current CPKC South Edmonton Yard. The platforms would be below grade to allow tunnel portals to be integrated at a future date. The only tracks connecting to the station at this time would be going south to Calgary (and possibly other smaller connections like Camrose) using CPKC's Leduc Subdivision. Also built in conjunction with this Phase 1 would be a streetcar extension from Whyte Ave to the new station using the old ROW behind MKT. I would also love to see the streetcar become a year-round service that would reliably get you from Strathcona to downtown via the HLB. I also envisage brownfield redevelopment adjacent to the station to help fund the project, and in the long-term, a new mass transit connection along either 82 Ave and 76 Ave.
Then for the expensive stuff! Starting from the Strathcona station, a twin bored tunnel would head under Strathcona in a north-northeast direction. The tunnels would lead to a portal next to Scona Road just north of 94 Avenue. The tracks would then transition onto a bridge/viaduct that would be about the same height above the river as the Tawatinâ Bridge. The viaduct would cross over a realigned Connors Road, 98 Avenue, and a daylighted Mill Creek and then cross the North Saskatchewan River. It would then head back into a tunnel just before crossing Grierson Hill. The alignment would pass under the proposed site for Alldritt's Quarters Hotel and Residences. There could be some cost savings if the tunnel portals are designed into the substructure of that project like the LRT tunnels were built into the basement of EPCOR Tower. The short tunnels would connect to an underground station built in The Quarters on mostly vacant land. This would be a great opportunity to redevelop the land by building the station below and mixed use towers above. The station would have a surface connection to the Quarters stop and an underground pedway connection to Churchill station. Finally, north of the station another series of tunnels would connect to the Capital Line LRT ROW allowing connections to CN's mainline (Jasper, Saskatoon) and other lines that CN owns (Lloydminster, Fort McMurray, Whitecourt, etc.)
I know this may sound like a very expensive project that seems like overkill, but in the end what we need is high quality intercity and regional transit, and right now we don't have that. I was inspired by Belgrade, Serbia when I was thinking of this plan. They are a city about our size, in a country that is not as wealthy, with crumbling rail infrastructure. But they built a new underground main station with tunnels, viaducts, and a new bridge similar to this. That project, along with renewal to their mainlines, means that travelling by rail in Serbia is becoming more reliable and efficient.
Heavy Rail Connection in Edmonton - Google My Maps
A possible solution to link Downtown Edmonton with destinations south, north, east, and west using a new bridge and a series of tunnels.
www.google.com
This could work for HSR or conventional regional trainsets. In my utopian fantasy, there would be a mix of HSR, regional/intercity and commuter lines all using the same tunnels/bridge. With some fancy signaling, you could have a significant amount of capacity with just two tracks.
So here's a breakdown of what I'm thinking.
First to be built would be the Strathcona Station on the current CPKC South Edmonton Yard. The platforms would be below grade to allow tunnel portals to be integrated at a future date. The only tracks connecting to the station at this time would be going south to Calgary (and possibly other smaller connections like Camrose) using CPKC's Leduc Subdivision. Also built in conjunction with this Phase 1 would be a streetcar extension from Whyte Ave to the new station using the old ROW behind MKT. I would also love to see the streetcar become a year-round service that would reliably get you from Strathcona to downtown via the HLB. I also envisage brownfield redevelopment adjacent to the station to help fund the project, and in the long-term, a new mass transit connection along either 82 Ave and 76 Ave.
Then for the expensive stuff! Starting from the Strathcona station, a twin bored tunnel would head under Strathcona in a north-northeast direction. The tunnels would lead to a portal next to Scona Road just north of 94 Avenue. The tracks would then transition onto a bridge/viaduct that would be about the same height above the river as the Tawatinâ Bridge. The viaduct would cross over a realigned Connors Road, 98 Avenue, and a daylighted Mill Creek and then cross the North Saskatchewan River. It would then head back into a tunnel just before crossing Grierson Hill. The alignment would pass under the proposed site for Alldritt's Quarters Hotel and Residences. There could be some cost savings if the tunnel portals are designed into the substructure of that project like the LRT tunnels were built into the basement of EPCOR Tower. The short tunnels would connect to an underground station built in The Quarters on mostly vacant land. This would be a great opportunity to redevelop the land by building the station below and mixed use towers above. The station would have a surface connection to the Quarters stop and an underground pedway connection to Churchill station. Finally, north of the station another series of tunnels would connect to the Capital Line LRT ROW allowing connections to CN's mainline (Jasper, Saskatoon) and other lines that CN owns (Lloydminster, Fort McMurray, Whitecourt, etc.)
I know this may sound like a very expensive project that seems like overkill, but in the end what we need is high quality intercity and regional transit, and right now we don't have that. I was inspired by Belgrade, Serbia when I was thinking of this plan. They are a city about our size, in a country that is not as wealthy, with crumbling rail infrastructure. But they built a new underground main station with tunnels, viaducts, and a new bridge similar to this. That project, along with renewal to their mainlines, means that travelling by rail in Serbia is becoming more reliable and efficient.
