Valley Line LRT | TransEd/Marigold | City of Edmonton

[David A]

It honestly doesn't feel slow at all when you ride it. It has quick acceleration and does keep up with traffic beside it

Yes, I also noticed the train did keep up with traffic when I took it earlier this week. There was only one noticeable stop for lights along the whole route, so it seemed well timed

Having the number of stops it does, adds a bit of time, but of course the tradeoff is to having more neighbourhood stops. There are a couple stops close together that maybe should have been consolidated, but overall they make sense.

 

[fromyeg]

Thanks for the review, kinda follows my thoughts.
Wondering if anyone here has tried to move a wheelchair or super suv style baby stroller between the aisles of seats, doesn't look possible

Unfortunately, our stroller does not fit down the aisle. (I don’t think it’s too crazy a stroller, but maybe it is!) Thankfully, there is lots of space close to where the doors open for stroller parking.

Tough to have wide aisles with low floor trains as the placement of the bogies leads to certain space constraints within the car.

 

[Greenspace]

These cars are pretty wide. Most of Europe has metre gauge and you definitely wouldn't get a large stroller down any aisles.

 

[yeggator]

Yes, I also noticed the train did keep up with traffic when I took it earlier this week. There was only one noticeable stop for lights along the whole route, so it seemed well timed

Having the number of stops it does, adds a bit of time, but of course the tradeoff is to having more neighbourhood stops. There are a couple stops close together that maybe should have been consolidated, but overall they make sense.

The stop spacing isn’t bad in the Southeast. The real offender is the West Line, where the stop spacing in Oliver is absolutely ludicrous.

 

[Tropical]

The stop spacing isn’t bad in the Southeast. The real offender is the West Line, where the stop spacing in Oliver is absolutely ludicrous.

Yet, there's still no chatter about a Little Italy/Chinatown Station on the Capital Line at 95 Street. I'll never stop wanting and believing in that.

 

[erudyk_29]

Yet, there's still no chatter about a Little Italy/Chinatown Station on the Capital Line at 95 Street. I'll never stop wanting and believing in that.

The ghost station at the Courthouse could have served this area (though it would have been further west). I wonder if there's anyway this station will ever be activated?

 

[Tropical]

The ghost station at the Courthouse could have served this area (though it would have been further west). I wonder if there's anyway this station will ever be activated?

With the Quarters Station open on the Valley Line, I doubt that could be justified. But I get your thinking!

 

[ChazYEG]

Out of scientific interest, I did two things yesterday:

Rode the line (back and forth) from ST to Millwoods at night (after 11pm). Felt safer than Metro and Capital lines. The stops are well lit, and I think the sense of openness the large windows in the trains give off help.

Then I drove back from DT to Millwoods, around 1am, and left just as a train was leaving the station. I tried following the line as closely as possible from DT to Millwoods, to compare travel times. I moved relatively faster than the train between 102 st and the Quarters, but it outpaced me and got to Strathearn before me. From there until the Whitemud overpass, it was always ahead of me. I caught up right before the Millbourne stop and got to Millwoods ahead of the train by about 3 minutes.

Keep in mind that this was at 1 to 1:30 am, and I got a lot of green lights all the way through. I imagine that during the day, overall time would be lower on the train. If I had taken the fastest way from where I was to MWTC, I would've probably have been there around 10 minutes before the train, only.

 

[Greenspace]

^Interesting, thanks for doing that for us all!

I imagine during rush hour the train will be faster option. Also, I agree and was predicting the low floor/tram/neighbourhood style will feel safer than underground LRT trains.

 

[thommyjo]

^Interesting, thanks for doing that for us all!

I imagine during rush hour the train will be faster option. Also, I agree and was predicting the low floor/tram/neighbourhood style will feel safer than underground LRT trains.

And while speed matters a lot, there’s also the convenience of not parking, reading or using the phone while on the train, etc. I think those can add up for people.

 

[Friendmonton]

And while speed matters a lot, there’s also the convenience of not parking, reading or using the phone while on the train, etc. I think those can add up for people.

Not to mention driving in rush hour in winter (if it ever comes lol)

 

[ChazYEG]

And while speed matters a lot, there’s also the convenience of not parking, reading or using the phone while on the train, etc. I think those can add up for people.

The overall lost time to most destinations DT will probably be lower by train that driving, if you consider the time to find parking, etc, especially during office hours.

I'll probably still drive DT if I'm going for a night out, just because bus services in Summerside are so freaking horrible that it would add an extra 20-25 minutes to my travel time, at night (around 15 minutes during office hours) to go from my place to MWTC. But if I'm going during the day, 99% of the time I'll be taking the train from now on.

 

[The_Cat]

I drove around parts of the Valley Line West LRT construction and saw the following:
(1) The curbs (one lane) on Stony Plain Road were done. I'm guessing paving isn't far behind.
(2) Stony Plain Road (142 Street-149 Street) is about a mile wide.
(3) Stony Plain Road (149 Street-156 Street) still has a lot of construction.
(4) 156 Street has a lot of curb construction.
(5) 87 Avenue (165-178 Street) has piers at various stages of construction.
(6) The Gantry Crane construction is continue east of 170 Street. Misericordia Station is moving forward.
(7) More construction at WEM.
(8) The road bed (178-189 Street) of 87 Avenue construction continues.
(9) Henday Bridge piers under construction.

 

[The_Cat]

https://x.com/MarigoldTransit/status/1722298790474895624?s=20

 

[ChazYEG]

I drove around parts of the Valley Line West LRT construction and saw the following:
(1) The curbs (one lane) on Stony Plain Road were done. I'm guessing paving isn't far behind.
(2) Stony Plain Road (142 Street-149 Street) is about a mile wide.
(3) Stony Plain Road (149 Street-156 Street) still has a lot of construction.
(4) 156 Street has a lot of curb construction.
(5) 87 Avenue (165-178 Street) has piers at various stages of construction.
(6) The Gantry Crane construction is continue east of 170 Street. Misericordia Station is moving forward.
(7) More construction at WEM.
(8) The road bed (178-189 Street) of 87 Avenue construction continues.
(9) Henday Bridge piers under construction.

Good update! Thanks!