A sneak peek at Edmonton’s LRT Holiday Train

Inspired by the CPKC Holiday Train that travels through Canada each year, Edmonton Transit Service will run its own holiday train on Saturday.

Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) is preparing a historic train for its festive maiden voyage through the city on Saturday.

This year is the first time the 79-year-old general electric locomotive, which typically runs after hours to haul heavy equipment and run-down LRT cars, will get a makeover to become the ETS Holiday Train.

Transit maintenance supervisor James Cott said the project was inspired by the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Holiday Train, which rode through Alberta at the beginning of December and featured bright Christmas-themed lights, decorations and music.

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“We’re just trying to build on that and create an Edmonton version of that,” Cott said on Thursday. “We’re really excited, hoping we get good traction on it this year so we can do it for years to come.

“It’s all unique, brand new. Some of the decorations were donated by our staff. We did have to purchase a small amount of them, but the number of people that put this together is incredible.”

On Saturday, the ETS Holiday Train will begin its first half-hour stop at Clareview Transit Centre at 5:15 p.m. From there, it will travel along the Capital Line, stopping for 30 minutes at Stadium, Central, Corona and Southgate LRT stations.

While passengers are not allowed on board, they’re welcome to enjoy the bright lights and take photos for free. ETS staff will be available and accepting monetary or winter gear donations on behalf of United Way.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Marek Tkach and Dave Mitchell