A local group behind the push for Calgary-to-Banff rail service said that a recent provincial presentation has them concerned that the Alberta government might be examining a different option.

Friends of CABR, a local non-profit that supports a proposed Calgary Airport to Banff Rail (CABR) project, would like to see the line built within the CPKC rail corridor.

The CABR project pitches a public-private partnership involving Liricon Capital and Plenary Americas, CPKC, and the Government of Alberta to twin the rail lines within the existing corridor. It would require the province to apply for Canada Infrastructure Bank funding to execute.

Last summer, the group said they would foot the construction costs for the Calgary-to-Banff route if the province came to the table with a connection from Calgary’s airport into the downtown.

Bruce Graham, executive director with Friends of CABR, said that the province’s most recent rail update suggested that high-speed rail from Calgary to Banff is an “emerging preferred option for regional rail service,” which feels like a bit of a setback.

“It certainly doesn’t align with what we’ve proposed,” Graham told LWC.

The update to the province’s rail master plan was delivered to stakeholders in June. In it, there’s an evaluation of various routes and their ranking based on nine different factors, including population and employment served, airport connectivity, transit-oriented development potential, tourism impact, transit network connection, and more.

It also outlines the pros and cons of a high-speed rail service from Calgary to Banff, versus a conventional rail service. The province’s passenger rail presentation does spend some time discussing “getting the backbone right,” focusing on high-speed rail versus conventional rail.

The update also suggested the challenges of using existing rail include the terrain (tighter curves, steeper grades), which make it difficult for future high-speed rail. It also discusses going through communities and a potential limit on service and reliability.

The benefit of conventional rail is lower upfront cost, stations in more communities, and using existing rail corridors, the report stated.

High-speed rail would be faster, and the report said the societal benefits would exceed the costs.

Speed over access for Calgary to Banff rail

Graham said that the province is looking at this from a very high level, with ridership consultants driving the discussion.

“They’ve got ridership consultants doing this; where I think they’ve lost the mark is that, overwhelmingly, what Albertans have said is we want rail service as soon as possible. We want practical and affordable,” he said.

“I don’t knock the fact that they need to look at long-term opportunities. I just think you’ve got to balance it with what’s needed in the present.”

The report showed, and Graham also underscored, that a high-speed rail line would need longer, straighter stretches of greenfield land to execute. That involves the expensive purchase of land, and it could limit Albertans’ access to the high-speed Calgary-to-Banff rail.

“Speed is great, but if we don’t have access, speed is not of any value,” he said.

Further, Graham said that there’s a timeline issue. Especially if the province wants to capitalize on interest from the federal government in completion nation-building projects through Bill C-5. Graham believes a social media post from federal transportation minister Chrystia Freeland suggests there’s interest from the feds in making a project like this work.

“We’ve got political interest emerging from Chrystia Freeland… and what I’m learning, I’m hearing is it there’s some interest from the Alberta transportation and economic corridors Minister to take this forward is a project of national interest, which would, in my opinion, would necessitate something executed in the short to medium term,” Graham said.

That could mean a Calgary airport to downtown connection, and then the use of existing rail corridor to launch a service to Banff, Graham said.

In an email statement to LWC, Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen said that they’re still reviewing the project feasibility.

“The government continues to conduct the feasibility analysis on passenger rail, but no decisions have been made yet,” he said. 

“Transportation and Economic Corridors has engaged with CPKC and other stakeholders during the development of the Master Plan. The Master Plan will be completed by the end of the summer to inform government decisions.”