Albertans will get a closer look at the province’s long-term vision for passenger rail during the first of two virtual information sessions Thursday evening. The online session will outline Alberta’s 30-year Passenger Rail Master Plan, a strategy that took two years to develop. The first-priority projects would connect Calgary and Edmonton’s airports to their respective downtown cores. The Alberta government has said Calgary’s airport rail line would connect with the city’s future Blue Line LRT extension. The second priority would be to build a high-speed rail between Edmonton and Calgary, which will be built on undeveloped land. This route would see high-speed trains travelling around 320 km/hr. Even with boarding times, it’s expected to cut down the commute between the city cores by about 50 minutes. Additional projects included in the 30-year vision are feeder rail lines serving communities such as Airdrie and Cochrane, along with a passenger rail connection between Calgary and Banff. A proposed Banff rail project has already attracted private sector interest. Two years ago, Calgary Airport-Banff Rail proposed building the Banff portion of the line at no cost to the province, if the government constructed the rail line between Calgary’s airport and the downtown core. The group told CTV News in June that it plans to renew that proposal, saying the Banff project would only involve twinning existing tracks, allowing service to begin within a few years. Looking further ahead, the master plan also identifies additional passenger rail service to communities including Crowsnest Pass, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray and Grande Prairie as part of a 60-year vision. The full 30-year passenger rail network is estimated to cost at least $60 billion. That figure includes the construction of trains, stations, tracks, land acquisition, maintenance and storage facilities, as well as governance costs. The province has committed $15 million over the next three years for advance planning for the project. The virtual information session begins Thursday at 7 p.m. Albertans interested in attending, you can register through the province’s passenger rail website.
