Edmonton Light Rail Transit

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Edmonton Light Rail Transit

Locale	Edmonton, Alberta
Transit type	Light rail
Began operation	1978-04-28
System length	12.3 km
No. of lines	1
No. of stations	11
Daily ridership	N/A
Track gauge	N/A
Operator	Edmonton Transit System

Edmonton Light Rail Transit, more commonly referred to as the LRT, is a light rail system in Edmonton, Alberta. Part of the Edmonton Transit System, the 12.3 kilometre route starts in Edmonton's northeast suburbs and currently ends near the University of Alberta Hospital on the south side. Construction on the southern extension is under way.

The LRT is also designated as Route 201. ^[1] The system uses trains of Siemens-Duewag U2 cars; an order was also recently placed which will bring twenty-six Siemens SD-160 cars into the fleet starting in 2008.^[2]

Contents 1 System overview 2 LRT expansion 3 History 4 LRT Fares 5 Uncompleted downtown station 6 Future plans 7 References 8 External links

[edit] System overview

The system currently comprises the following 11 stations: Clareview (where the main line begins and ends), Belvedere, Coliseum, Stadium, Churchill, Central, Bay, Corona, Grandin-Government Center, University, and Health Sciences. Of these, Churchill, Central, Bay, Corona, Grandin and University are underground.

Though the LRT's coverage of the city is not as extensive as that of the C-Train in Calgary, Edmonton's network saves space in the downtown core and the University of Alberta main campus by tunneling underneath it, in the process connecting many buildings via underground pedway. A dedicated bridge crossing the river valley leads it toward the university station, which is also underground.

[edit] LRT expansion

A 10 km expansion of the system is currently under construction. New stations will include McKernan/Belgravia (originally to be named 76th Avenue), South Campus, Southgate and Century Park. The first two stations are scheduled to open in late 2008, with Southgate and Century Park due to commence operations in late 2009.

The LRT expansion is being developed entirely at surface level with a couple of underpasses, one at Belgravia Road and the other under 111 Street south of 61 Avenue. A short busway is also being constructed from the future South Campus station (to open in 2008) roughly parallel to Belgravia Road in conjunction with the South LRT expansion. The underground LRT line comes out onto the surface just north of the new Health Sciences Station at the University of Alberta, which was opened in January, 2006. From the Health Sciences Station station, the South LRT line will lead through the proposed South Campus and Southgate Mall, and to the former Heritage Mall site (now being developed as Century Park, a transit-oriented development) in the south end of the city.

When permission to expand was granted, the city chose to take the line south, as ridership projections from the south exceeded those in all other quadrants of the city.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) options are being reviewed to provide quicker service from the future LRT to the southeast, west, and north.

Recently, in February 2007, Mayor Stephen Mandel expressed support for expanding the LRT further north along an existing CN Right of Way to future "green" developments in the far north-east of the city, however beyond the Mayor's endorsement nothing has yet come of this.

[edit] History

Edmonton was the first city in North America with a population of less than one million to build a modern light rail system. The route first started construction in 1974, and opened its first segment on April 22, 1978, in time for the 1978 Commonwealth Games. The line followed a CN right-of-way from Belvedere Station to Stadium Station, via an intermediate stop at Coliseum Station (near the Northlands Coliseum, now Rexall Place), and then continued in a tunnel under 99 Street to Central Station, at Jasper Avenue and 100 Street, including an intermediate stop, Churchill. The original line was 6.9 km long.

When the line opened, fare collection was modeled on traditional rapid transit lines, with booth attendants. Low volumes of activity at some entrances led to weekend closures of alternate station entrances. In November 1980, Edmonton Transit --as it was then named -- switched to a modified European-style "Proof of Payment" system, initially retaining the old turnstiles to issue the new receipts. Fares were now collected by roving inspectors, which permitted keeping all entrances open and required fewer staff.

On April 26, 1981, in the same year Calgary opened its first C-Train line, the ETS opened a northeastern-bound extension of 2.2 km on the CN right-of-way to Clareview Station. In June 1983, the light rail tunnel downtown was extended by 0.8 km to Bay and Corona stations, and was extended again in September 1989 by one station and 0.8 km to Grandin (below the Alberta Legislature). On August 23, 1992, the next extension opened from Grandin to University Station, partially via a North Saskatchewan River crossing with a lower level for pedestrians and cyclists, and partially via a tunnel into the University Station. On January 1, 2006, the line was extended south through the University Campus to the Health Sciences Station, and located at street level.

Every station on the line built since 1983 was built with full accessibility for the disabled, although the line was semi-navigable by disabled passengers from its opening. In the late 1990s, Clareview and Belvedere Stations were covered and also had their platforms lengthened to allow for the use of five-car trains.

[edit] LRT Fares

Adult $2.50

Youth $2.25

Senior $2.25

Passengers transferring directly onto the LRT from a bus are allowed to simply walk into the Proof of Payment area without stopping at a fare machine. Transfers are good for 90 minutes, and must be presented upon boarding or on request of an ETS officer. Many people use a monthly pass, or bus tickets to save money. Those caught with fare evasion on the LRT are fined $110.00.

[edit] Uncompleted downtown station

The LRT tunnel widens on a northeast-southwest section north of Churchill (located under 97 St-96 St). It was intended to be a loading platform to transfer prisoners late at night on specially designed prisoner rail vehicles from the Edmonton Remand Centre, located directly above it, to the Edmonton Maximum Security Prison located just northeast of the city. Rising costs and the inability to justify the cost of constructing the line further northeast from Clareview Station stopped further construction. Had it been completed, it would have been the only side-boarding station in the Edmonton LRT system.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Future plans

Following completion of the LRT to Century Park, there are no immediate plans to continue expansion of the LRT system. Long range plans are being developed to extend the LRT to the North and West parts of the city. The North line would branch off the existing line after Churchill, and would run via Grant MacEwan, Kingsway and NAIT to north Edmonton. North of the Yellowhead, the line would follow either 97 St or 113 A St. The current plan for West LRT would have it branch off after Health Sciences, and run via University Ave, a new LRT bridge and 87 Ave to West Edmonton Mall and Lewis Estates. Due to concerns over the effect vibrations of trains would have on the equipment at the Cross Cancer Institute, an alternative plan would see the west line branch off after South Campus Station, and travel via Fox Dr, 149 St and 87 Ave to West Edmonton Mall and Lewis Estates.

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.edmontonslrt.com/lrt_in_ed.htm
2. ^ http://www.edmontonslrt.com/PDFs/2005-10-17-LRV_NewsRelease.pdf

[edit] External links

• Edmonton Transit System--Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, Namao, Spruce Grove
• Edmonton South LRT

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