Renewed passenger rail service between Banff and Calgary?

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

^ I believe Town of Banff is governed much like any other town, but of course with many additional regulations pertaining to Parks...

Banff incorporated as a town in Alberta in 1990. Prior to that it was administered by Parks Canada. It is currently the only incorporated municipality inside a national park in Canada.

So I guess your point about it being governed like any town is true.... I'm going a little OT here.

[powderjunkie]

This made me wonder about Field and Jasper (town). Fast facts:

Field: "unincorporated community" with population of 169 - administered by Parks Canada. People lease their land on 42 yr terms.

Jasper: "Specialized Municipality" with population 4500. Governance is shared between the municipality and the federal Parks Canada agency. (wiki) - I didn't dig too deep, but they do have their own mayor and city council...not sure how different it is from Banff (7800)

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Plus I'm sure a fee to the government to allow for the use of their station/land.

What three levels are they talking about? Federal (Parks), Provincial... what's the third? Municipal (City of Calgary?)

yeah I guess they only said "all levels of government"
I just assumed they'd expect Calgary to pay a chunk.

[Fuzz]

So it seems that Banff does have a good transit system, going where people want to go, and it is getting used...


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...775787?cmp=rss

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

So it seems that Banff does have a good transit system, going where people want to go, and it is getting used...


https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...775787?cmp=rss

Have you tried using it. It sucks.

For example the bus back to Canmore only holds 7 bikes which is always filled in the afternoon and therefore is unreliable as an option. Service is hourly.

The Parks buses from the Lake Louise overflow are a disaster filled with long lines and a longer than necessary bus ride from the overflow parking instead of from the ski hill. Not worth using this service as you are better off going somewhere else in the park or getting there early enough to park directly at the site.

Those are the two routes I have tried to use and it has failed to provide acceptable levels of service.

Instead of the half-assed current approach they should have spent more money doing it properly. Free transit, 15 minute service, and expensive parking at main sites to fund transit.

[Fuzz]

Within town it's 20 minute service.


My wife has used it a few times to go from Banff to Canmore with her bike, and never had a problem with rack space, or with it only running ever hour(or 30 min at peak times). What do you want them to do, run a bus with a bike trailer?


I'm not surprised the LL one is not great though, but I'm sure they will get it sorted. It's fairly new. Sure, ya it's easier to drive up and park on site. If you beat the rush. Otherwise enjoy your 2 hour drive in town.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by GGG

For example the bus back to Canmore only holds 7 bikes which is always filled in the afternoon and therefore is unreliable as an option. Service is hourly.


Instead of the half-assed current approach they should have spent more money doing it properly. Free transit, 15 minute service, and expensive parking at main sites to fund transit.

If only there was someway to get you and your bike from Banff to Canmore?


$$$ parking at main sites is a great idea, and most tourists wouldn't balk at the idea at all. Perhaps an option for locals to buy an annual park pass that includes parking for an extra few bucks. Convert everything in proximity to Greyhound/rail station and Fenlands Rec Centre to a parking lot and transportation hub.

Being right beside the train tracks, it's already a bit of a blight and not really part of a wildlife corridor. Heavily restrict parking in the townsite. In the winter, I'd also charge for parking at SSV (all revenue to Parks) with tons of shuttles to the hill. Solves the problem of parking on access road, too.

[surferguy]

New article came out last night.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...erta-1.6104658

Plans to establish a passenger rail service linking the Calgary International Airport and Banff National Park took another step closer to realization Thursday.

Invest Alberta, the provincial government's investment attraction Crown corporation, announced it had reached a detailed memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding the rail passenger project alongside Alberta Transportation and the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), a federal Crown corporation.

MOUs are agreements that outline shared plans held among parties but are not yet legally binding

Should the project move forward, it could see a 150-kilometre passenger rail service established that would potentially include seven stops:

Calgary International Airport.
Downtown Calgary.
Calgary Keith (near Lynx Ridge Golf Club).
Cochrane.
Morley (Stoney Nakoda).
Canmore.
Banff.

[Table 5]

To me, this seems like a more viable idea than the high-speed train to Edmonton.

Not sure how much traffic that Morley stop would get.

[Fuzz]

The tricky part will be timing, and how it integrates with the Mani line. If you have to spend a bunch of time waiting at stops for open track, this is not going to be great service.

It's also going to make Canmore even more desperate for a proper rail crossing in to town. As it is, trains reek havoc on traffic flow. Add in a slow train stopping and starting again it will be another barrier.

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

The tricky part will be timing, and how it integrates with the Mani line. If you have to spend a bunch of time waiting at stops for open track, this is not going to be great service.

It's also going to make Canmore even more desperate for a proper rail crossing in to town. As it is, trains reek havoc on traffic flow. Add in a slow train stopping and starting again it will be another barrier.

Is there an actual train station in Canmore? I can’t picture one currently.

[Northendzone]

so my questions are:

- how much, and when i ask that i really mean how much as we know almost every major government project goes way way over budget
- so what would it look like taking the train to banff - it dumps you off at the station and you can walk downtown - but what if you want to go biking, or hiking somewhere or skiing
- 7 stops - so if you want to go skiing for the day you are likely looking at being at the station by 5:00 or 5.30am?
- Will this run on a dedicated line? If the train has to pull over for frieght trains then people are going to get turned off
- 10 more trains per day in canmore - awesome, because traffic isn't already a mess when a train rolls thru

to me the train appeals to folks who are heading to banff to wander around, eat lunch and come home. if you are heading there to enjoy and outdoor activity, then it is not as appealing

i dig the "romance/nostalgia" appeal of the train though

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by surferguy

Is there an actual train station in Canmore? I can’t picture one currently.

Nope. I presume they'd build a pretty basic platform with a ticket machine and maybe a shelter, behind the grocery stores.

Northendzone, if you want to go biking or hiking, I'm sure they will have a way to put bikes on it. Public transit is great around the valley now, so you can transfer to a town bus to get closer to where you want to be.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

to me the train appeals to folks who are heading to banff to wander around, eat lunch and come home. if you are heading there to enjoy and outdoor activity, then it is not as appealing

i dig the "romance/nostalgia" appeal of the train though

I imagine tourists are expected to account for much of the ridership.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Nope. I presume they'd build a pretty basic platform with a ticket machine and maybe a shelter, behind the grocery stores.

Northendzone, if you want to go biking or hiking, I'm sure they will have a way to put bikes on it. Public transit is great around the valley now, so you can transfer to a town bus to get closer to where you want to be.

so instead of a 1.5hr trip to the trailhead i can now do it in 2.5hrs or so between getting to the station, loading, waiting at various stations and then transferring from train station to the bus.

personally, the only way i could see using it myself would be if they banned private vehicles from stopping in banff

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

- Will this run on a dedicated line? If the train has to pull over for frieght trains then people are going to get turned off

i dig the "romance/nostalgia" appeal of the train though

It is a separate line, matching the CP main, effectively twinning it.

I would ride it once or twice for the romantic nostalgia factor, but this has boondoggle and future subsidized money pit written all over it.

[homestand]

https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio...-calgary-banff


8:47 of audio

[topfiverecords]

Any chance this line and the high speed between Edmonton and Calgary share airport and downtown stations?

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

It is a separate line, matching the CP main, effectively twinning it.

I would ride it once or twice for the romantic nostalgia factor, but this has boondoggle and future subsidized money pit written all over it.

Any chance the track could bend?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

Any chance the track could bend?

Not on your life, my Hindu friend!