The Alberta government has announced its plans to massively expand railway infrastructure to connect the province.

According to a news release, the Alberta government’s 2024 budget includes $9 million to support the development of the Passenger Rail Master Plan this year.

As part of the plan, the government hopes to develop commuter rail systems for the Calgary and Edmonton areas that connect surrounding communities and the Calgary and Edmonton International Airports to their respective downtown areas.

Additionally, the government is hoping to build regional rail lines from Calgary and Edmonton to the Rocky Mountain parks; a regional rail line between Calgary and Edmonton, with a local transit hub in Red Deer; municipal-led LRT systems in Calgary and Edmonton that integrate with the provincial passenger rail system; and rail hubs serving the major cities that would provide linkages between a commuter rail system, regional rail routes and municipal-led mass transit systems.

The idea of expanding railways within Alberta has been floated for over a decade and a half, but Premier Danielle Smith says the time to act on a comprehensive railway plan is now, especially given the massive and historic interprovincial migration and large amount of international migration to the province.

“A large and efficient passenger rail network stretching across the province has incredible potential. It represents a forward-looking vision and is a mobility solution for our rapidly growing province and I’m excited to watch this plan take shape and bring us into the future,” Smith said.

“There’s a lot of work ahead of us, but I’m confident that we will build the network Albertans need to improve daily life and work, boost the economy and take away the stress of long-distance travel.”

Alberta’s population boom

Last year, Alberta’s population grew by 202,324, a record for the province, with 55,107 coming from other provinces—a record for any province in Canada. Moreover, since the last serious report on expanding Alberta’s rail infrastructure was published in 2014, the province has seen an influx of over 1 million newcomers.

While this has helped Alberta’s economy grow, it has also increased the degree of congestion on highways and other roads, leading to longer commutes. While one option would be to expand highways, Smith has said this wouldn’t be feasible across the province.

“Expanding our roads, freeways, and highways to be six or eight or ten lanes all the way across is not always feasible, nor is it always wise,” Smith told reporters yesterday.

Thus, the government of Alberta hopes the Passenger Rail Master Plan will successfully assess the feasibility of expanding railways to accommodate the rising population, give a detailed cost–benefit analysis for where railway expansion would be most beneficial, and make projections for the future to plan ahead.