The group behind a Calgary to Banff passenger rail line said they’ll pay for that whole route if the province comes through with an express rail route from the airport to Calgary’s downtown.  

Liricon Capital Ltd. and Plenary Americas said they’ve restructured their Calgary Airport Banff Rail project, originally submitted in 2021, to reflect the government of Alberta’s proposed plan to build and operate a potential express passenger train service from FlyYYC to a downtown Grand Central Station in the Rivers District.

The group said that should this happen, and they’re provided three trains per hour along that line, they would build and operate the track from the Grand Central Station to Banff and operate the route at no cost to the province.

“Liricon/Plenary’s restructured Calgary Airport Banff Rail proposal allows the Province to leverage the government’s investment by integrating with a private sector solution,” said Liricon Managing Partner Jan Waterous, in a prepared media release.  

“In doing so, the Province will maximize the impact of its investment since the Grand Central Station to Banff line will require no Provincial tax dollars.”

While no new tax dollars might be used, the Liricon/Plenary plan would still see the province have to apply for, and secure, Canada Infrastructure Bank financing to cover 50 per cent of the Banff/Calgary route, however.

“Without CIB financing, the Liricon/Plenary proposal for CABR would be terminated,” their information read.

The so-called Grand Central Station is part of an Alberta regional rail strategy launched in April of this year and inserted into the recent restructuring of Calgary’s $6.25 billion Green Line.  As part of reassuring the provincial commitment, the Green Line had to integrate with the Red and Blue lines in the downtown, and also a Rivers District Grand Central Station in the provincial rail master plan.

Alberta’s regional rail master plan is right now with a consultant, according to their passenger rail webpage. That is to include a 15-year delivery plan that provides options and recommendations to the government.

It does reference the need for a passenger line between Calgary and Edmonton and the Rocky Mountain parks, with a regional hub in Red Deer. It also talks about a commuter rail system that connects surrounding communities and the Calgary International Airport to the downtown.

The province said late Tuesday afternoon that no decisions on private sector proposals will be made until the rail master plan is complete.

“Alberta’s government remains supportive of private sector-led and funded infrastructure projects, and the Passenger Rail Master Plan will be a vital tool going forward to provide the province and industry clarity on the most efficient and timely use of tax dollars,” read an emailed statement from Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, Devin Dreeshen.

Connection study is already underway

In February, the City of Calgary and the Government of Alberta began a study to determine the optimal rail connection and route between downtown Calgary and the Calgary International Airport. That group has met with different stakeholders to determine their views on connection plans.

“The results of the Calgary Airport Rail Connection Study will help to inform the Province’s Passenger Rail Master Plan,” the City of Calgary said in an emailed statement to LWC.

The City of Calgary also said that the connection study would “build a collective understanding of the proposed rail projects” and see how they fit with area landowners and the City of Calgary’s own airport rail line study.

“The study is advancing the technical understanding of the corridors and the constraints and opportunities for accommodating rail to the airport,” they said.

That report is expected to be presented to Calgary city council this fall.

The City of Calgary said in March of this year that it could get shovels in the ground on an extension to the current LRT Blue Line that would be a step closer to realizing an airport connector route.  In Alberta’s Budget 2024, $43 million was earmarked for a roughly $160 million extension of the Blue Line.

It’s not clear at this time if the proposed express passenger rail is in addition to this tie into Calgary Transit, or if it’s separate. It’s also not clear if an express passenger rail built and operated by the province is to replace a Blue Line extension and airport connector line. According to Liricon/Plenary’s above diagram, it does include both.

Ward 9 Coun. Gian-Carlo Carra said ultimately all parties will come to the realization there’s only room for one route that achieves all the goals: Airport connection to a Grand Central Station, Calgary to Edmonton, Calgary to Banff, and a tie-in to Calgary Transit.

“It’s a physical space issue. You cannot have an Edmonton train, an airport connector and a train to Banff, all operating independently in that space. There’s just not enough room,” Carra said.

“Whoever’s doing whatever planning at the provincial level is starting to wrap their minds around the geometry problem, or the geometry challenge that confronts what we need to do.”

Carra surmises that the train that goes from Banff to Calgary will also be the same one that goes from Edmonton to Calgary. Fitting in a quick commuter monorail connecting to that line to the airport delivers the airport connection. 

He suspects that the Blue Line will connect to the terminal for workers, and then something that connects to a Nose Creek station, which will ultimately connect to a distant future north section of the Green Line (currently proposed to go all the way to a North Pointe terminal).

Carra surmised that the province only has an emerging idea of what they want for regional rail.

“Everybody getting to Banff, getting between the downtown and the airport, and getting up to Edmonton, all have to operate,” he said.  

“They have to accommodate each other around that shared reality.”

Liricon/Plenary’s plan would be to build 130 kilometres of track west from the Grand Central Station by twinning existing Canadian Pacific Kansas City rail lines, with stations in the Beltline, Calgary West, Cochrane, Stoney Nakoda, Canmore and Banff.

They would want to operate three trains per hour on the airport track to Grand Central Station.

“A plan that has the Province develop the 20-kilometre route from the airport to downtown, along with a new Grand Central Station, and Liricon/Plenary developing the 130-kilometre route from Grand Central Station to Banff, creates a strong, taxpayer-friendly solution to providing passenger rail service in a critical transit corridor,” said Plenary Americas president Brian Budden.