Connect with us
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=12]

Alberta

Alberta’s vision for passenger rail

Published

2 years ago

9 minute read

Alberta’s government will develop a Passenger Rail Master Plan as the foundation to advancing passenger rail in the province.

Since the early days of Alberta’s development, the province has been shaped by the iron rails that crisscross its landscape. The arrival of the transcontinental railway in the late 19th century brought about profound changes to the way of life, facilitating trade, settlement, and economic prosperity. Towns and cities sprung up along the tracks, serving as vital hubs for commerce and transportation.

Today, the legacy of rail continues to shape Alberta and the rest of Canada. While the modes of transportation may have evolved, the spirit of innovation and connectivity remains as strong as ever. As Alberta experiences record population growth and evolving transportation needs, advancing passenger rail infrastructure is essential for enhancing accessibility, efficiency, and connectivity across the province.

Alberta’s Passenger Rail Master Plan will look forward decades and identify concrete actions that can be taken now as well as in the future to build the optimal passenger rail system for the province. The Master Plan will assess the feasibility of passenger rail in the province, including regional (inter-city), commuter and high-speed services.

“A large and efficient passenger rail network stretching across the province has incredible potential. It represents a forward-looking vision and is a mobility solution for our rapidly growing province and I’m excited to watch this plan take shape and bring us into the future. There’s a lot of work ahead of us, but I’m confident that we will build the network Albertans need to improve daily life and work, boost the economy and take away the stress of long-distance travel.”

Danielle Smith, Premier

“Alberta already has significant public mass transit systems in Calgary and Edmonton for the provincial passenger rail system to build upon. The Master Plan will be a vital tool to guide the province on the next steps in advancing passenger rail. It will provide certainty to the rail sector and ensure the most effective use of tax dollars and government authorities. We look forward to hearing from Albertans and working with municipalities, Indigenous communities and the private sector in advancing passenger rail in the province.”

Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors

Passenger rail services connected to urban mass transit shapes and strengthens regional transportation systems, connects communities, supports jobs and the economy and improves access to housing.

“Canada’s railways appreciate the Alberta government’s efforts to conduct a fact-based study on the potential for passenger rail service that recognizes the essential need to protect current and future freight rail capacity. Any proposal to co-locate passenger service in freight corridors must demonstrate the ability to preserve the freight rail capacity required to move goods in support of the province’s economy, today and tomorrow. Rail is the greenest mode of ground transportation for both people and goods.”

Marc Brazeau, president and CEO, Railway Association of Canada

The government’s vision is for an Alberta passenger rail system that includes public, private or hybrid passenger rail, including:

  • a commuter rail system for the Calgary area that connects surrounding communities and the Calgary International Airport to downtown;
  • a commuter rail system for the Edmonton area that connects surrounding communities and the Edmonton International Airport to downtown;
  • regional rail lines from Calgary and Edmonton to the Rocky Mountain parks;
  • a regional rail line between Calgary and Edmonton, with a local transit hub in Red Deer;
  • municipal-led LRT systems in Calgary and Edmonton that integrate with the provincial passenger rail system; and
  • rail hubs serving the major cities that would provide linkages between a commuter rail system, regional rail routes and municipal-led mass transit systems.

The vision includes a province-led “Metrolinx-like” Crown corporation with a mandate to develop the infrastructure and oversee daily operations, fare collection/booking systems, system maintenance, and planning for future system expansion.

“At VIA Rail our vision for integrated mobility means dreaming of a future where a passenger can easily switch between commuter rail, light transit, transit buses, and regional trains in an agile and simple way. We’ve already initiated a number of exchanges with partners, and we intend to step up the pace in the coming months and years. I can assure you that as integrated mobility becomes an increasingly important topic of conversation in Alberta, VIA Rail will be there to play a unifying role.”

Mario Péloquin, president and CEO, VIA Rail Canada

Alberta’s Passenger Rail Master Plan will ensure government has the required information to make decisions based on where passenger rail delivers the best return on investment. The plan will provide a cost-benefit analysis and define what is required by government, including a governance and delivery model, legislation, funding, and staging to implement passenger rail in Alberta. This work will include a 15-year delivery plan that will prioritize and sequence investments.

“We are excited to see the province taking the next step in committing to regional and intercity rail. This Passenger Rail Master Plan aims to set out a vision for a comprehensive rail network in our province that’s long overdue. We are thrilled to see this process move forward.”

Justin Simaluk, president, Rail for Alberta Society

The Master Plan will take into account future growth, planning for the growing provincial population and considering the use of hydrogen-powered trains to ensure a robust and effective passenger rail system to serve Albertans for years to come.

Development of the Master Plan will include engagement with Albertans to gain their perspectives for the future of passenger rail in Alberta.

Alberta’s government has released a Request for Expression of Interest to seek world-class knowledge and consultant services as a first step toward the development of the Passenger Rail Master Plan for Alberta. Following this process, a Request for Proposal will be issued to select a consultant to develop the Passenger Rail Master Plan. The Master Plan is expected to be completed by summer 2025.

Quick facts

  • Passenger rail includes:
    • Commuter rail – passenger rail that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or surrounding commuter towns, and is often traditional heavy-rail
    • Regional rail – passenger rail that operates beyond the limits of urban areas and provides inter-city passenger rail transport services and can be traditional heavy-rail or high-speed rail
    • Light-rail transit (LRT) – urban passenger rail transit that typically operates small, frequent train service in an urban area. Calgary and Edmonton use LRT as part of their mass transit systems
  • Passenger rail in Alberta is currently limited to two tourism-focused services, VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer, and LRT in Calgary and Edmonton.
  • Budget 2024 includes $9 million to support the development of the Passenger Rail Master Plan this year.

Related Topics:

This is a news release from the Government of Alberta.

Follow Author

More from this author
Agriculture / 1 week ago

Growing Alberta’s fresh food future

Alberta / 1 week ago

Alberta introducing three “all-season resort areas” to provide more summer activities in Alberta’s mountain parks

Alberta / 2 weeks ago

New era of police accountability

Alberta

Danielle Smith slams Skate Canada for stopping events in Alberta over ban on men in women’s sports

Published on December 17, 2025

By

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

The Alberta premier has denounced Skate Canada as ‘disgraceful’ for refusing to host events in the province because of a ban on ‘transgender’ men in women’s sports.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has demanded an apology after Skate Canada refused to continue holding events in Alberta.

In a December 16 post on X, Smith denounced Skate Canada’s recent decision to stop holding competitions in Alberta due to a provincial law keeping gender-confused men from competing in women’s sports.

“Women and girls have the right to play competitive sports in a safe and fair environment against other biological females,” Smith declared. “This view is held by a vast majority of Albertans and Canadians. It is also common sense and common decency.”

“Skate Canada‘s refusal to hold events in Alberta because we choose to protect women and girls in sport is disgraceful,” she declared.

“We expect they will apologize and adjust their policies once they realize they are not only compromising the fairness and safety of their athletes, but are also offside with the international community, including the International Olympic Committee, which is moving in the same direction as Alberta,” Smith continued.

Earlier this week, Skate Canada announced their decision in a statement to CBC News, saying, “Following a careful assessment of Alberta’s Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, Skate Canada has determined that we are unable to host events in the province while maintaining our national standards for safe and inclusive sport.”

Under Alberta’s Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, passed last December, biological men who claim to be women are prevented from competing in women’s sports.

Notably, Skate Canada’s statement failed to address safety and fairness concerns for women who are forced to compete against stronger, and sometimes violent, male competitors who claim to be women.

While Skate Canada maintains that gender-confused men should compete against women, the International Olympic Committee is reportedly moving to ban gender-confused men from women’s Olympic sports.

The move comes after studies have repeatedly revealed what almost everyone already knew was true, namely that males have a considerable innate advantage over women in athletics.

Indeed, a recent study published in Sports Medicine found that a year of “transgender” hormone drugs results in “very modest changes” in the inherent strength advantages of men.

Additionally, male athletes competing in women’s sports are known to be violent, especially toward female athletes who oppose their dominance in women’s sports.

Last August, Albertan male powerlifter “Anne” Andres was suspended for six months after a slew of death threats and harassments against his female competitors.

In February, Andres ranted about why men should be able to compete in women’s competitions, calling for “the Ontario lifter” who opposes this, apparently referring to powerlifter April Hutchinson, to “die painfully.”

Interestingly, while Andres was suspended for six months for issuing death threats, Hutchinson was suspended for two years after publicly condemning him for stealing victories from women and then mocking his female competitors on social media. Her suspension was later reduced to a year.

Continue Reading

Alberta

Alberta’s huge oil sands reserves dwarf U.S. shale

Published on December 16, 2025

By

From the Canadian Energy Centre

By Will Gibson

Oil sands could maintain current production rates for more than 140 years

Investor interest in Canadian oil producers, primarily in the Alberta oil sands, has picked up, and not only because of expanded export capacity from the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Enverus Intelligence Research says the real draw — and a major factor behind oil sands equities outperforming U.S. peers by about 40 per cent since January 2024 — is the resource Trans Mountain helps unlock.

Alberta’s oil sands contain 167 billion barrels of reserves, nearly four times the volume in the United States.

Today’s oil sands operators hold more than twice the available high-quality resources compared to U.S. shale producers, Enverus reports.

“It’s a huge number — 167 billion barrels — when Alberta only produces about three million barrels a day right now,” said Mike Verney, executive vice-president at McDaniel & Associates, which earlier this year updated the province’s oil and gas reserves on behalf of the Alberta Energy Regulator.

Already fourth in the world, the assessment found Alberta’s oil reserves increased by seven billion barrels.

Verney said the rise in reserves despite record production is in part a result of improved processes and technology.

“Oil sands companies can produce for decades at the same economic threshold as they do today. That’s a great place to be,” said Michael Berger, a senior analyst with Enverus.

BMO Capital Markets estimates that Alberta’s oil sands reserves could maintain current production rates for more than 140 years.

The long-term picture looks different south of the border.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that American production will peak before 2030 and enter a long period of decline.

Having a lasting stable source of supply is important as world oil demand is expected to remain strong for decades to come.

This is particularly true in Asia, the target market for oil exports off Canada’s West Coast.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects oil demand in the Asia-Pacific region will go from 35 million barrels per day in 2024 to 41 million barrels per day in 2050.

The growing appeal of Alberta oil in Asian markets shows up not only in expanded Trans Mountain shipments, but also in Canadian crude being “re-exported” from U.S. Gulf Coast terminals.

According to RBN Energy, Asian buyers – primarily in China – are now the main non-U.S. buyers from Trans Mountain, while India dominates  purchases of re-exports from the U.S. Gulf Coast. .

BMO said the oil sands offers advantages both in steady supply and lower overall environmental impacts.

“Not only is the resulting stability ideally suited to backfill anticipated declines in world oil supply, but the long-term physical footprint may also be meaningfully lower given large-scale concentrated emissions, high water recycling rates and low well declines,” BMO analysts said.

Continue Reading

Trending

X