High Speed Rail as an Eco-Friendly
Transportation Opportunity
A Vision
for Rapid Interurban Passenger Transportation Corridors in Alberta
The time has come to establish efficient, sustainable and
rapid passenger rail corridors in Alberta, initially between Calgary,
Red Deer and Edmonton, and ultimately linking all the major cities in
the province, creating a single dynamic economic region. Those corridors
could include high speed rail, LRT, commuter rail, other forms of rapid
passenger transportation or any combination thereof.
The critical factors for such a system to meet its potential are that they integrate well and are served by good
feeder systems to and from other municipalities and people generators
such as tourist attractions, high density housing, commercial power centres and major industrial complexes.
Due to increasing capacity and safety pressures on our highways, the
increasing public desire for alternative transportation, environmental
and health issues and the ever-increasing cost of building, expanding
and maintaining the highway network, the province could be visionary
in developing an efficient, cost-effective, environmentally-friendly
transportation system that concentrates on moving people quickly between
the economic urban travel generators throughout the province.
The first step in creating this vision is to secure a series of
city-to-city rail rights-of-way before the cost of purchasing the land
becomes cost-prohibitive due to the continued expansion of land
development. The ultimate vision would be a provincial rapid passenger
rail spine linking the larger urban centres in the south of the province
to the urban growth areas in the north. Regional transportation feeder
systems would compliment and complete the overall vision.
The most viable means of putting such a system in place starts with the
province securing land for rights-of-way. Knowing the location of
rights-of-way provides for better municipal and inter-municipal planning
of long term development and growth.
The second part is to form a P3 partnership with the private sector to
provide the infrastructure, supply the train-sets, operate and maintain
the system.
One of the proposals on the table comes from Alberta High Speed Rail
Inc., a company that envisions a downtown Calgary to downtown Edmonton
dedicated double-track line with a stop west of Red Deer in 84 minutes
using 300 km/hr trainsets. The route is proposed to be a 'Greenfield
Route' (a dedicated 'straight line' route through mostly rural areas) west of the Highway 2 corridor. At each end of
the route, the proposal suggests sharing rights-of-way with Canadian
Pacific but using separate track. The original proposal suggested a Red Deer
terminal west of the city near Highway 11.
On the left map, the Greenfield route is in red, the CPR in blue
and the Highway 2 corridor in yellow.
A recent study
done by CPCS for the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and
Counties suggested that a 'Greenfield Route' east of the
Highway 2 corridor would be less disruptive to rural residents.
On the right map, the Greenfield route is in green, the CPR in
yellow and the Highway 2 corridor in blue.
Some proposals
suggest that the line terminate at the edge of the major cities and
integrate with existing or planned LRT routes in Calgary and
Edmonton although the province has already purchased property in the
downtowns of each city for a terminal.
The Van Horne Institute determined in 2004 that such a system is now
viable providing that the initial infrastructure is built by the
province in much the same way as the province provides the
infrastructure for the highway system. The study looked at a number of
options including the Greenfield route which would provide for the
fastest trains and the least conflict with existing uses.
The
use of the existing Canadian Pacific north-south right-of-way is also
potentially viable but creates a number of challenges. Trains could
still be relatively high speed but significantly slower than the
dedicated
Greenfield route. The CP option also creates potential safety and
scheduling conflicts with freight movements, challenges with going
through several towns and the necessity of major infrastructure
improvements including straightening out curves, closing at-grade
crossings and building a series of grade separations.
Another option is the existing Highway 2 right-of-way but the costs of
adapting every interchange could be almost as high as a new dedicated
route.
The costs of providing the infrastructure is huge but not unprecedented.
Building the 4-lane divided Highway 2 expressway in the 1950s was very
costly at the time but cheap by today's standards. And at the time,
there didn't appear to be the traffic to justify it. The Alberta
government has also invested billions of dollars in airports, the
highway network including the ring roads for Calgary and Edmonton, LRT,
oil sands, the petrochemical industry, the SuperNet, power generation
and many other projects.
As
a first step towards a world-class rapid inter-urban passenger
transportation system, provincial
investment in acquiring land for such a system will ultimately create a healthier, more
environmentally-friendly, more productive, more efficient and stronger
future for the citizens of Alberta.
The time has come to establish efficient, sustainable and
rapid passenger rail corridors in Alberta, initially between Calgary,
Red Deer and Edmonton, and ultimately linking all the major cities in
the province, creating a single dynamic economic region. Those corridors
could include high speed rail, LRT, commuter rail, other forms of rapid
passenger transportation or any combination thereof.
Due to increasing capacity and safety pressures on our highways, the
increasing public desire for alternative transportation, environmental
and health issues and the ever-increasing cost of building, expanding
and maintaining the highway network, the province could be visionary
in developing an efficient, cost-effective, environmentally-friendly
transportation system that concentrates on moving people quickly between
the economic urban travel generators throughout the province.
The first step in creating this vision is to secure a series of
city-to-city rail rights-of-way before the cost of purchasing the land
becomes cost-prohibitive due to the continued expansion of land
development. The ultimate vision would be a provincial rapid passenger
rail spine linking the larger urban centres in the south of the province
to the urban growth areas in the north. Regional transportation feeder
systems would compliment and complete the overall vision.
One of the proposals on the table comes from Alberta High Speed Rail
Inc., a company that envisions a downtown Calgary to downtown Edmonton
dedicated double-track line with a stop west of Red Deer in 84 minutes
using 300 km/hr trainsets. The route is proposed to be a 'Greenfield
Route' (a dedicated 'straight line' route through mostly rural areas) west of the Highway 2 corridor. At each end of
the route, the proposal suggests sharing rights-of-way with Canadian
Pacific but using separate track. The original proposal suggested a Red Deer
terminal west of the city near Highway 11.
A recent study
done by CPCS for the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and
Counties suggested that a 'Greenfield Route' east of the
Highway 2 corridor would be less disruptive to rural residents.
The
use of the existing Canadian Pacific north-south right-of-way is also
potentially viable but creates a number of challenges. Trains could
still be relatively high speed but significantly slower than the
dedicated
Greenfield route. The CP option also creates potential safety and
scheduling conflicts with freight movements, challenges with going
through several towns and the necessity of major infrastructure
improvements including straightening out curves, closing at-grade
crossings and building a series of grade separations.
As
a first step towards a world-class rapid inter-urban passenger
transportation system, provincial
investment in acquiring land for such a system will ultimately create a healthier, more
environmentally-friendly, more productive, more efficient and stronger
future for the citizens of Alberta.