Expanding from a New Model: Line 204 Phase I — 2023

All of the light rail planning that has occurred to this juncture in Calgary has hewn closely to the radial model of service, wherein mass transit lines intersect in the downtown core to reach out in different directions to suburban locations within the city. There is no dispute to the effectiveness and the necessity of the three radial lines on offer thus far. What is needed as an integral component of a long-term mass transit strategy in Calgary is a means to fill in the gaps in service that a radial network would leave, and to accommodate C-Train passengers whose destinations lie outside the downtown core.

The inspiration for solving this problem dates back to 1896, which is when the Glasgow Subway first entered service in that Scottish city as a six-mile-long steam-powered cable-car loop underneath the city centre and the River Clyde. With an annual ridership in the 13-million-passenger range after its electrification through the 1920s and a three-year closure and renovation of the system from 1977 to 1980, the Glasgow Subway is a high-traffic central circulator that is somewhat constrained by a “reduced scope for full commuting journeys, but modal interchange opportunities provide links to radial routes in the city and beyond” (Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, 2008b). The transfer options for Glasgow Subway patrons range from existing connections to three British Rail stations to future integration by 2021 with a comprehensive network of urban light rail, commuter rail, coastal ferries, and city bus and long-haul motor coach services (Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, 2008a:6-7).

While the Glasgow Subway would influence the integration of orbital and radial metro lines in locations as diverse as Moscow and Miami, perhaps the most helpful example of the sequential implementation of an orbital line comes from Singapore, whose Mass Rapid Transit Circle Line is slated to open in five phases starting in 2009. On its completion in 2020, the Circle Line will consist of 33.3 kilometres of electrified double track and 29 underground stations, with multi-level platform interchanges connecting the new service to key stations on Singapore’s three current radial lines (Land Transportation Authority of Singapore, 2008). In proclaiming that the first phase of the Circle Line would commence revenue service in 2009, Singaporean Transport Minister Raymond Lim indicated that this initial segment would bridge the existing northeastern and northern legs of the municipal mass transit system and lead to a twenty-minute reduction in travel times from those sectors of the city, with additional segments entering service in sequence to meet the objective of “[planning] our land transport system around people, not the other way round” (Government of Singapore, 2008).

From a Calgarian perspective, there are four key criteria that the construction of the first phase of an orbital light rail transit line must satisfy. First and foremost among them is the ability of the line to start from logical transit termini that are scalable to further connections and extensions. Additionally, the line must intersect with existing radial C-Train services at a reasonable directness and with a reasonable economy of passenger travel time between them. Moreover, the line must afford passenger access to destinations that either are not served at all by the current light rail service network or are targets for intensification and expansion that risk overloading the C-Train system without effective relief planning. Finally, the line must complement existing corridors for urban development that presuppose strategic transit investments and presage transit orientation, pedestrian safety, and urban vitality. It is in the service of satisfying these key criteria that Phase I of C-Train Line 204 is being put forward as an effective urban transit solution.

The first phase of Line 204 would consist of a total of 12 kilometres of electrified double track running generally in parallel with 16 Avenue North, of which four kilometres would be built with grade separations for maximum operational efficiency. Starting from a metro interchange with the existing Rundle Station, the line would proceed underground for roughly 400 metres before curving into a surface alignment in the 16 Avenue NE median and continuing a further 600 metres to Mayland Heights Station, adjacent to the intersection with 19 Street NE. The line would then continue westward, crossing the interchange of 16 Avenue and Deerfoot Trail NE on its own elevated span, and proceed in dedicated exclusive light rail lanes adjacent to the renovated 16 Avenue median for a total of 2,400 metres to Renfrew Station, at the intersection with Sixth Street NE. From there, the line would proceed another 300 metres to the surface-level Edmonton Trail Station before entering a metro portal for an interchange with the existing Transcanada Station. The line would surface again to dedicated exclusive light rail lanes and arrive after travelling 400 metres at the surface-level Mount Pleasant Station, where 16 Avenue meets Fourth Street NW, before continuing for a total of 2,400 metres to Rosedale Station, at the intersection of 16 Avenue and Eighth Street NW; to Polytechnic Station, at the intersection with 12 Street NW; to Capitol Hill Station, at the intersection with 16 Street NW; and to the transparently-named 19 Street Station. The remaining 3,600-metre length of the initial phase of Line 204 would continue at separated grades, with a metro tunnel leading to an interchange with the existing Banff Trail Station and continuing from there to an elevated track and platform structure at Stadium Station, to be located between University Drive NW and the western flank of McMahon Stadium, before entering the University Drive median at a sufficient incline to arrive underground at Campus Gate Station, beneath the existing Calgary Transit terminal on the University of Calgary grounds. From that location, the first phase of Line 204 would travel under 24 Avenue NW and arrive at West Campus Station, at the intersection with 37 Street NW, before turning southeast to cross underneath 16 Avenue NW once more and arrive at its final stop at Foothills Medical Station, near the existing Calgary Transit terminal on the hospital grounds.

The total capital investment required for the Transcanada phase of Line 204 comes to $1,872-million, a figure that could be carried over thirty years in instalments of $94-million from 2024 onward, or financed through an MSI-equivalent funding mechanism from 2020 to 2023 in four instalments of $468-million. The details of the necessary capital investment are identified as follows:

Transcanada Metro Track and Way of 4.00 km
@ $155-million per km: $620-million

plus seven metro stations (Rundle, Transcanada, Banff Trail, Stadium, Campus Gate, West Campus, Foothills Medical)
@ $92-million each: $644-million

Transcanada Surface Track and Way of 8.00 km
@ $25-million per km: $200-million

plus eight surface stations (Mayland Heights, Renfrew, Edmonton Trail, Mount Pleasant, Rosedale, Polytechnic, Capitol Hill, 19 Street)
@ $10-million each: $ 80-million

Meridian Park Yard: $200-million

Rolling Stock of 32 LRVs (Avanto)
@ $4-million each: $128-million

With interchange stations at Banff Trail on Line 201, Rundle on Line 202, and Transcanada on Line 203, the first phase of Line 204 meets the critical objective of bridging the C-Train system’s radial lines and allowing for passenger network effects that otherwise would not be available. It is also worth noting the capacity improvements and the passenger flow redistribution opportunities at the University of Calgary, McMahon Stadium, SAIT Polytechnic, and the Sunridge Mall – Peter Lougheed Hospital initial terminal complex that the Transcanada phase of Line 204 would afford, as well as the further extension of C-Train service connections to the Foothills Medical Centre initial terminus and the West Campus of the University Lands. The Transcanada phase also supports such key urban redevelopment activities as the “Sixteenth Avenue North Urban Corridor Area Redevelopment Plan”, a statutory policy document envisaging a “necklace” of residential and commercial development nodes that “are expected to create a critical mass at these locations that will promote pedestrian activity and business viability” (City of Calgary, 2007h:6). As a response to the call for passenger mobility improvements across Calgary’s breadth, the Transcanada phase of Line 204 meets every key immediate objective and permits further strategic expansion of the C-Train network.

Works Cited

City of Calgary (2007h). “Sixteenth Avenue North Urban Corridor Area Redevelopment Plan”. URL as of 26 Mar 2008 http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/planning/pdf/sixteen_avenue_north_study/sixteen_avenue_north_study_one.pdf

Government of Singapore (2008). “Speech by Mr Raymond Lim, Minister for Transport, at the Visit to Kim Chuan Depot, 25 January 2008, 9.00 AM: Doubling Our Rail Network”. URL as of 15 Jul 2008 https://app-pac.mica.gov.sg/data/vddp/embargo/6260896.htm

Land Transport Authority of Singapore (2008). “Circle Line”. URL as of 15 Jul 2008 http://www.lta.gov.sg/projects/proj_rail_ccl.htm

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (2008a). “A Catalyst for Change: The Regional Transport Strategy for the West of Scotland, 2008-21”. URL as of 15 Jul 2008 http://www.spt.co.uk/rts/documents/catalyst_for_change.pdf

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (2008b). “SPT Subway: Facts and Figures”. URL as of 15 Jul 2008 http://www.spt.co.uk/subway/facts.html