From yesterdays Calgary Herald.
A Calgary company is proposing to link Alberta’s two major cities by high-speed rail as part of a joint project with the province, aimed at easing congestion on one of Canada’s busiest travel corridors.
The plan would see the government spend an estimated $1.6 billion to buy the land & build a 300 kilometer passenger line between Calgary & Edmonton. All other expenses - including buying trains & selling tickets - would then be handed off to Alberta High-Speed Rail Inc., a private firm backed by Western Canadian investors.
“Our solution is the Crown would own the land on which the rail was built,” said president BIll Cruickshanks, “We are offering to share the public sector risk. Trains would be owned & operated the same as an airline or a bus company by a private firm without any government subsidy or support.”
The travel time between Calgary’s downtown & Edmonton by high-speed train would be 84 minutes, according to AHSR’s research. That’s twice as fast a vehicle or even an airplane, Cruickshanks notes.
The company is proposing hourly departures between the 2 cities - once every half hour during peak commuting times - & a coach fare of $65 one way. Some 3000 passengers would be expected to use service every day.
“Our project is justifiable to the public,” said Cruickshanks, “All over Europe, they’ve built thousands of kilometers of high-speed. If you can move people from point A to point B quickly, efficiently & at a good price, it will be used.”
The concept of a high speed rail link between the provinces two largest cities has been discussed since the 1970’s but often dismissed.
Premier Ralph Klein has indicated he doesn’t approve of taxpayers footing the bill of what could potentially be a white elephant.
But a 2004 report from the Van Horne Institute, a transportation think-tank, argues there are enough would be travellers & economic benefits to warrant the route