FIVE LIGHT RAIL investment projects are included in Calgary’s five-year transport infrastructure programme for 2005-10, approved in November.
Total cost of the package is put at C$2bn, including 35 road schemes. The light rail elements are valued at C$354m. The funding will be shared equally between the Province of Alberta and the City of Calgary.
The city will bring forward the start of work on the Northeast extension along 36 Street NE from Whitehorn to Prairie Winds to 2007 rather than 2010. The Northwest Line will be extended from the current terminal at Dalhousie to Crowfoot Centre. Two further elements cover reconstruction of all the stations along the 7th Ave transit mall to accommodate four-car trains, and extension of the platforms at the older South Line stations to the same length.
To enable the operation of longer trains, C-Train has ordered 33 SD-160 LRVs from Siemens for US$99m; these are to be delivered from October 2007.
