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Calgary Regional Rail Transit

JasperTF said:
Airdrie has 2 ICE routes into downtown Calgary and another that feeds to the C-Train at Rundle station.
Okotoks, and surrounding towns, have On-It that feeds to the C-Train at Somerset/Bridlewood.
First Canada and Southland Transportation also operate commuter bus services from Airdrie, Okotoks, Cochrane, and others.

Seems like you have an interesting plan in your head, I'd be interested to hear it.

https://www.albertaregionalrail.com/
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I've probably spent a good 10 years tinkering about thinking about how the future of rail transit should go in the Calgary area. It's one thing to be a person just thinking about things, another ballgame to make things happen.
 
The Calgary Metropolitan Region Board will be officially established in January 2018, when the new regulation comes into effect.

The Mandate of the board includes the coordination of regional infrastructure investment, they are required to prepare and present a Growth Plan within 3 years.

Aspects of the Growth Plan are to promote integrated and strategic planning, and coordinate decisions in the Calgary Metropolitan Region. Also to identify key future infrastructure investments that would best compliment existing infrastructure, services and land-use, and best address efficient and cost effective growth and development to maximise benefits to the Calgary Metropolitan Region.
 

Attachments

  • Calgary Metropolitan Region Board.pdf
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JasperTF said:
http://amppe.org/2016/03/15/bow-valley-assessing-feasibility-of-rail-transit/

Back in 2016 the Town of Banff initiated a feasibility study to see if rail could be a viable transit option from Calgary to the Bow Valley. I wonder what the results are.
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I haven't heard anything from emails or phone calls I've made but I did come across this:

https://www.banff.ca/bids.aspx?bidID=61

So my guess is they're still working towards it.

Edit* just saw the bid is closed and the links are dead...so there has to be data somewhere
 
Brightline (Florida) began public operations on Saturday 13 January 2018, starting with commercial services between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, and extending services to Miami in a couple of months.

How long until we get passenger rail services in Alberta?
 
I’d say post 2019 for some serious discussion. That is when the window is open.
 
JasperTF said:
Brightline (Florida) began public operations on Saturday 13 January 2018, starting with commercial services between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, and extending services to Miami in a couple of months.

How long until we get passenger rail services in Alberta?
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At $10-$15 that seems fairly incredible to me. I wonder what sort of subsidies they could be receiving? I notice that lot's of commuter systems in the US share tracks with freight companies but haven't really read much animosity towards running passengers like CP.
 
A lot of freight lines in the USA run way less trains than the 30-40 a day (closer to the high end) run on the main line, or the 20 or so run on nose creek.
 
darwink said:
A lot of freight lines in the USA run way less trains than the 30-40 a day (closer to the high end) run on the main line, or the 20 or so run on nose creek.
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The Northstar line in Minneapolis has up to 50 trains per day and is one of the busiest corridors in the state. I can't remember where I saw it I think it was the regional transit plan PDF but it says the Okotoks corridor has about 8 tpd but that was back in 2009.
 
Okotoks would still need a section of the main line if you’re objective is one seat to downtown. though I’d be fine with head to head transfers at the end of the line in the interim. And to do all day two way service you’d need freight diverted to night and some passing upgrades. Certainly it is by far the easiest project, not sure on benefits versus the current bus in service quality without major work though.

North Star was/is double tracked and in some parts triple tracked (the amount of time I care to look at it to see if various upgrade plans to triple track it happened or not). In any case they got to build in a corridor where way less work was required.
 
The Northstar Line is 64km from Big Lake to Minneapolis using the existing BNSF Right of Way. Total cost for the project was US$317 million (2008) for track construction including the extension of the METRO Blue Line to Target Field station, and money to BNSF for a perpetual easement for track rights.
Average weekday ridership Q4 2016 2,400. Northstar uses MP36 PH-3C locomotives and Bombardier BiLevel coaches and cab-cars, these are rated and classified to share track with freight. Prior to the Northstar commuter service the BNSF line hosted 63 trains per day.

https://www.albertaregionalrail.com/
 
Yeah, for the south line we have largely used the easy to expand corridor to build the south LRT. Elsewhere the corridor isn’t leveled to wider than the existing 1 track width(out to Cochran where you’d need to make lots of retaining walls) or is constrained by other existing infrastructure. No one is arguing it can’t be done. Just that it will be expensive. And hopefully have way better ridership than there.
 
During the course of my research on this I have come across a wealth of information. For ridership v's car, buses will take less than 5% (generally 2-3%), trains will take more than 10% (theory 11%), varies dramatically depending upon cost, speed, distance, and viability of alternatives. I also have a mountain of estimates, general track bed construction, cut and cover, tunnelling, bridges, viaducts, fly-overs, etc. Actually it will not cost as much as you think it will.

What level of daily ridership would make Commuter/Regional Rail viable?
 
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JasperTF said:
During the course of my research on this I have come across a wealth of information. For ridership v's car, buses will take less than 5% (generally 2-3%), trains will take more than 10% (theory 11%), varies dramatically depending upon cost, speed, distance, and viability of alternatives. I also have a mountain of estimates, general track bed construction, cut and cover, tunnelling, bridges, viaducts, fly-overs, etc. Actually it will not cost as much as you think it will.

What level of daily ridership would make Commuter/Regional Rail viable?
Click to expand...

I'm assuming that the entire lines would need to be double tracked. Is there even enough space on a line to Okotoks to do that?
 
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