Calgary’s mayor is optimistic about a new federal-provincial pact to put high-speed rail between Calgary and Edmonton and hopes the private sector buys into the opportunity.

On Monday, the Government of Alberta said it plans to launch a formal request for proposal (RFP) this fall, seeking private-sector proposals for a high-speed rail line from downtown Calgary to Red Deer to downtown Edmonton that also serves the province’s two largest airports, along with the City of Airdrie.

The successful proponent will require minimal provincial government investment, and the plan must ultimately integrate into the transit systems in Calgary and Edmonton.

The province expects to select a successful bidder by April 2027.

“Connecting Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton with high-speed rail would be a generational investment in Alberta’s future,” said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

“By working with the federal government, we are taking the next steps toward a project that could strengthen one of Canada’s fastest-growing economic corridors and support Alberta’s growth for decades to come.”

Earlier this year, the Premier, along with Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors, made a $15 million announcement to begin planning for airport transit connections in both Calgary and Edmonton, as a part of its 30-year passenger rail master plan.

The province expects this high-speed rail project to serve 80 per cent of the province’s population that resides inside the busy north-south corridor. The train could travel at speeds of up to 320 km/h, and get passengers between Alberta’s two largest cities in less than two hours.

“Throughout the development of Alberta’s Passenger Rail Master Plan, we heard that a high-speed passenger rail connection between Calgary and Edmonton via Red Deer is a priority for Albertans,” said Minister Dreeshen.

“We are excited to move forward with this project, which will transform the way Albertans travel.”

Part of the announcement Monday included the federal government’s commitment that the high-speed rail project would be referred to the Major Projects Office to help advance the plan.

Business case remains to be seen: Mayor Farkas

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said that the real key to Monday’s high-speed rail announcement was seeing federal and provincial leaders together. He said that telegraphs stability and certainty for the private sector proponents.

He said if any private sector bidders come out of the woodwork, there has to be some sort of regulatory certainty for them to begin considering the level of investment needed to pull the project off.

“It remains to be seen what the business case is, but I think for many reasons that have been stated around tourism, economic development, goods movement, logistics, there are a lot of reasons that this type of concept makes sense,” Farkas told LWC.

“Then there are also a lot of reasons why we still don’t have this after many, many decades of talking about it.”

He said the province is testing the feasibility of this project being built with little to no provincial funding. Farkas said he wouldn’t prejudge that answer. He said that if the private sector is prepared to put real capital on the table and take the risk, the government should take that seriously.

“From Calgary’s perspective, I am interested in getting this infrastructure built. But I’m also going to protect Calgary taxpayers. I’m not interested in writing a blank cheque,” he said.  

“So, bring us a serious business case. Show us the financing. Show us the ridership. Show us who carries the risk. Then we might have something worth talking about.”

According to the province’s rail master plan, they estimate 80,000 one-way passenger trips by 2055, or nearly 30 million trips annually.

Mayor Farkas said the completion of a high-speed rail between Calgary and Edmonton is squarely in the economic interest of Calgary.

“Bringing our cities closer together means easier access to workers, to customers, to investment and opportunity,” he said.

“For Calgary especially, it strengthens our position as a headquarter city and a place to invest.”

Farkas said it makes it easier to move people to the airports, universities, convention centers and the downtowns.

“As Calgary continues to grow toward 2 million people, we need to think beyond the infrastructure we need today, and we should continue to be pushing toward this and building the infrastructure that keeps Calgary competitive for the next 50 years.”