City committee discusses possible LRT line to the airport
Posted Jun 25, 2020 7:05 am.
Last Updated Jun 25, 2020 8:51 am.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) – One week after city council approved the Green Line, another LRT project could be in the works.
A possible plan to connect a train line to the Calgary Airport was revealed at a committee meeting Wednesday.
The plan may cost around $1.8 billion but it isn’t funded yet as it needs the Green Line to extend to the north and for the Blue Line extension to be built.
“We’re considering now, how we would follow on to these lines,” said Ward 6 Councillor Jeff Davison. “How would we extend the Blue Line? How would we extend the Green Line? How do we connect the airport to all these things? It’s really important to have these conversations now to hope to get to a solution sooner rather than later.”
The plan would also include an automated vehicle to transport passengers from the Green and Blue Lines to the airport, similar to what’s being used in Vancouver.
Davison added while the Green Line is being built, council should start considering how to connect everything.
“We’ve been talking for a long time about connecting the LRT to the airport and I think as we move forward with the Green Line project, as we know we want to extend the Blue Line, it’s really time to start putting pen to paper on this work.”
A couple of maps showing what the airport connection could look like. Admin explain their "Automated People Mover" recommendation, saying it has less operating and maintenance costs, minimal land impacts, and is more flexible, scalable, and modular. #yyc #Calgary @660NEWS pic.twitter.com/XSu4BRUJV9
— Saif Kaisar (@StaySaif) June 25, 2020
"How would we extend the Blue Line? How would we extend the Green Line? How do we connect the airport into all of these things? And so it's really important to have those conversations now, to hope to get to a solution sooner than later," says @JeffDavisonYYC. #Calgary @660NEWS
— Saif Kaisar (@StaySaif) June 25, 2020
Right now, there’s no timetable for the proposed project with the Green Line expected to break ground by the Spring of 2021.
The city plans to extend the Blue Line to the northeast with stations at 96 Ave., Country Hills, 128 Avenue N. and Stoney with a west extension to 85 Street.
There is no timeline or funding for that extension.
