There are light rail systems in three Canadian urban centres--Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa--and one streetcar system in Toronto.
Video Light rail in Canada
Existing light rail systems
The following table lists average weekday ridership figures for the four Canadian light rail systems, using third quarter 2016 figures wherever possible:
Calgary
Calgary Transit's CTrain network, which started operation in 1981, now has the second highest weekday ridership of any light rail transit system in North America, carrying over 299,000 passengers per weekday in the fourth quarter of 2017. There are 45 stations in operation in the 60-kilometer (37 mi) CTrain light rail system, After starting by running on one leg in 1981, the system has expanded and now has four legs radiating out into Calgary's suburbs in different directions. The legs have been organized into two routes (identified as the Red Line and the Blue Line) that connect the four legs via shared tracks in a downtown transit mall. The existing four legs of the system, as built in chronological order, are the South leg (1981), the Northeast leg (1985), the Northwest leg (1987), and the West leg (2012). The segments of the system are:
- Downtown - the transit mall where the Red and Blue lines share common tracks at street level along 7th Avenue South;
- Red Line - the line connects the South and Northwest legs via the downtown transit mall;
- Blue Line - the line connects the Northeast and West legs via the downtown transit mall;
- Green Line - the planned line will add about 40 kilometres (25 mi) and 28 stations to the system by connecting a North leg to a Southeast leg, probably in a tunnel underneath the existing downtown transit mall. Construction on it is expected to start in 2017.
Edmonton
Until 2015, the Edmonton Transit System operated only one light rail line, the Capital Line. In 2015, the new Metro Line became the first new line in Edmonton that is not an extension of the existing Capital Line. The under construction Valley Line will use low-floor vehicles.
- The Capital Line runs roughly north-south, between northeast Edmonton and the Century Park community, with a mix of tunnels and at-grade track. Six stations are underground, while the remaining nine are at-grade.
- The new Metro Line, which opened on September 6, 2015, extended the light rail system by 3.3 km (2.1 mi) and added three new stations. It interlines with the Capital Line, sharing seven stations, and services northwest Edmonton to central Edmonton.
- The Valley Line is an under-construction, 27-kilometre (17 mi), low-floor urban line running southeast to west from Mill Woods to Lewis Farms, crossing through downtown. The line will be constructed in two phases, with phase 1 being the portion between Mill Woods and 102 Street stop, which will connect with the Capital and Metro Lines at Churchill.
The Government of Alberta has promised $3 billion in light rail transit funding in Alberta over the next 10 years. $1.5 billion of the money will be dedicated to Edmonton's Valley line west and other priorities. Edmonton has started planning and is seeking community feedback on the proposed Centre Line LRT using low floor technology--the same as the Valley Line--which is proposed to connect downtown, the Alberta Legislature, University of Alberta, Whyte Avenue, and to Bonnie Doon Mall on the Valley Line. Renderings have been released for the future expansion of the Capital Line south expansion from Century Park to Ellerslie. This expansion would include a new park-and-ride and operations and maintenance facility. The city will construct the permanent Nait station so the line can support five-car trains. The city is also looking into replacing the crossing at Princess Elizabeth Avenue to ease congestion at the intersection by building an over or under pass. Expansions include a station at Blathford, one of the world's largest fully sustainable communities. And extending the line out to St. Albert, one of Edmonton's larger suburbs. The City of St. Albert has released renderings of what LRT could look like in the city.
Ottawa
In 2001, to supplement its Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, Ottawa opened a diesel light rail pilot project, (the O-Train), which was relatively inexpensive to construct (C$21 million), due to its single-track route along a little used freight-rail right of way and use of diesel multiple units (DMUs) to avoid the cost of building overhead lines along the tracks.
With the construction of the Confederation Line, the O-Train brand has been extended to both rail transit services and the diesel line has been renamed as the Trillium Line.
- The Trillium Line is an 8 km (5.0 mi) diesel light rail line running north to south from Bayview Station to Greenboro Station connecting with a transitway at each terminus. There are three passing sidings along the single-track line.
- The Confederation Line is a light rail line under construction to run east-west from Blair to Tunney's Pasture connecting to a transitway at each terminus and with the Trillium Line at Bayview. The line will run both underground and on the surface. There will be a tunnel downtown with three underground stations.
Toronto
While Toronto does not have a light rail system it does operate a streetcar system. Most of the 11 routes of the Toronto streetcar system operate in mixed traffic, but three of them have similarity to light rail in that there is a high degree of separation from road traffic by using partial reserved lanes with some track in tunnels. There is also a proposal to build a fourth such line. The lines are:
- 510 Spadina running between Spadina station and Union station.
- 509 Harbourfront running between Union station and Exhibition Place via Queens Quay station.
- 512 St. Clair running along St. Clair Avenue West between St. Clair station and Gunns Loop via St. Clair West station.
The Toronto Transit Commission is currently constructing its first light rail line, Line 5 Eglinton. When completed it will run across Eglinton Avenue between Mount Dennis (Weston Road) and Kennedy station. This 19-kilometre corridor will include a 10-kilometre underground portion, between Keele Street and Laird Drive. Vehicles will be incompatible with the streetcar system as they will use a different track gauge (1435 mm for LRT, 1495 mm for streetcars).
Maps Light rail in Canada
Proposed
The following table lists light rail lines either planned or under construction:
Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario's B-Line route, part of the region's BLAST rapid transit network, is a proposed light rail line to run east-west along King and Main streets, with McMaster University and Eastgate Square as its termini. However, in announcing the financing for the line, the Province of Ontario changed the eastern terminus to Queenston Circle instead of Eastgate Square but added a branch to the new West Harbour GO Station. After uncertainty in Hamilton's city council, and poor ridership projections in provincially funded studies, Queen's Park announced that they would abandon the spur line down James North, and a previously announced BRT system along James, in favour of reinstating Eastgate Square as the terminal station of the B-Line.
Peel Region
The Hurontario LRT is a proposed 17.6 km (10.9 mi) light rail line largely financed by the Province of Ontario to run on the surface along Hurontario Street from Port Credit GO Station in Mississauga to Steeles Avenue in Brampton. On October 28, 2015, Brampton City Council cancelled the proposed 5.6 km (3.5 mi) section of the line along Main Street in Brampton to Brampton GO Station.
Surrey
A 27-kilometre (17 mi) light rail network consisting of three lines radiating from Skytrain stations has been proposed for construction in Surrey, BC. The planned lines are:
- Surrey City Centre to Guildford Town Centre along 104 Avenue (travel time: 10 minutes).
- Surrey City Centre to Newton Town Centre along King George Boulevard (travel time: 15 minutes).
- Surrey City Centre via Fleetwood Town Centre to Langley along the Fraser Highway (travel time: 24.5 minutes).
The lines on 104 Avenue and King George Boulevard would be built in seven years while the Surrey-Langley Line on the Fraser Highway would be finished five years later. A report on the economic benefits of the project was produced by a consulting firm in May 2015.
This project (among others major transit infrastructure initiatives, including the extension of the Millennium Line under Broadway in Vancouver) was originally made contingent, by the governing BC Liberal party, on the approval, by plebiscite in 2015, of a sales tax increase to generate new funds for public transit. The electorate voted against the tax increase, leaving the project unfunded. Subsequently, the project has been included in the second phase of TransLink's 10-Year Investment Plan, which is scheduled for approval in late 2017.
Toronto
There are two additional light rail lines planned in the city of Toronto.
- Line 6 Finch West is a 11-kilometre light rail transit line that will run along the surface of Finch Avenue from the new Finch West subway station on the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension at Keele Street to Humber College.
- The Sheppard East LRT is a proposed 13-kilometre light rail transit line that will run along the surface of Sheppard Avenue from Don Mills subway station to east of Morningside Avenue.
Victoria region
In August 2011, Victoria Regional Transit System announced that light rail transit was recommended as the preferred technology to connect Victoria to Saanich and the West Shore communities.
Waterloo Region
The Waterloo Region, Ontario has approved plans for a light rail transit system from Waterloo to Cambridge, which will be constructed in two phases. The first phase of the LRT system is under construction and will run from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener. Extension to Ainslie St. Transit Terminal in Cambridge will be implemented in the second phase. During the first phase, the Kitchener to Cambridge segment will be operated as adapted bus rapid transit. Currently, the iXpress system, a limited stop express bus service, is operating as a precursor to rapid transit. The Region of Waterloo received funding from the provincial government.
See also
- Light rail in North America § Canada
- List of Canadian railways § Urban rail transit
- Public transportation in Canada
- Rapid transit in Canada
- Bus rapid transit in Canada
- Streetcars in North America
- Transportation in Canada § Light rail systems
Notes
References
External links
- American Public Transit Association
- Table of Light Rail Transit Agencies in the United States
- Light Rail Central photos & news
- Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the U.S. National Research Council
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments
