CTrain
{{FAC}} should be substituted at the top of the article talk page
C-Train is the name given by Calgary Transit to its light rail service, in operation since 1981. Currently two major routes are operated on 37.7km of track, running into the southern, northwestern, and northeastern sections of the city. There are also currently plans to build additional lines running to the west and the northeast of the city.
History
The first line of the C-Train opened on May 25, 1981 following three years of track work. This line, the A-Line, ran from downtown Calgary south to Anderson Station (see South Line below for details). The other two current sections of line, the B-Line (running northeast) and the C-Line (running northwest) opened on April 27, 1985 and September 17, 1987 respectively. Since those opening dates, six new stations have opened up:
- August 31, 1990 - Brentwood Station (C-Line)
- October 9, 2001 - Canyon Meadows Station and Fish Creek-Lacombe Station (A-Line)
- December 15, 2003 - Dalhousie Station (C-Line)
- June 28, 2004 - Shawnessy Station and Somerset-Bridlewood Station (A-Line)
Up until mid-July 2001, all of the transit cars on the tracks were of the Siemens-Duewag U2 model of transit vehicle (originally used in German transit systems; also used in Edmonton). At that point in time the first cars of the newer Siemens SD-160 began arriving, and there are now thirty-two SD-160s on the tracks (as opposed to eighty-two U2 cars, originally eighty-three until an accident in March 2001).
As of 2004 there is a total of 37.7km of track; the three lines are 16.9km (the southern line or A-Line), 9.8km (the northeastern line or B-Line), and 11.0km (the northwestern line or C-Line) in length.
Route Details
There are currently two major routes in operation: Route 201 (Somserset-Bridlewood/Dalhousie) and Route 202 (Whitehorn/City Centre).
Stations Common to Route 201 and Route 202
There are eleven stations in the downtown core which serve all three lines. Five of these stations are accessible only to westbound trains: they are (from east to west) 3rd Street East, Olympic Plaza (formerly 1st Street East; renamed because it is directly across from the site of the awards ceremony from the 1988 Winter Olympics), 1st Street West, 4th Street West, and 7th Street West. Another five stations are accessible only to eastbound trains: they are 8th Street West, 6th Street West, 3rd Street West, Centre Street, and City Hall (formerly 2nd Street East; renamed because it is directly north of City Hall). The eleventh station is 10th Street West, which serves as the terminus station for trains inbound from the northeast.
Route 201
This route comprises two lines: the southern line/A-Line, which was the first of the three lines to be built, and the northwest line/C-Line, which is the newest of the three lines to be built. Currently eleven stations are on the south line (of which two will open on June 28, 2004) and seven on the northwest line.
South Line
Seven stations on this line opened on May 25, 1981, as the first light rail line to serve the city. From north to south, they are Victoria Park-Stampede (originally Stampede), Erlton-Stampede (originally Erlton), 39th Avenue (originally 42nd Avenue), Chinook, Heritage (also the site of the Haysboro LRT Storage Facility), Southland, and Anderson (also the site of the Anderson LRT Yards). On October 9, 2001, two new stations were added: Canyon Meadows and Fish Creek-Lacombe. On June 28, 2004, two more stations opened: Shawnessy and Somerset-Bridlewood. A twelfth station - Silverado - is planned for the future once the community of Silverado in the south is developed.
Northwest Line
Five stations on this line opened on September 7, 1987. From the most central to the most northwesternly, they are Sunnyside, SAIT/ACA&D/Jubilee (the station name in full is "Southern Alberta Institute of Technology/Alberta College of Art and Design/Jubilee Auditorium"), Lions Park, Banff Trail, and University. On August 31, 1990, Brentwood Station was opened as a new terminus, and on December 15, 2003, Dalhousie Station was opened. An eighth station - Crowfoot - is planned to open in 2008.
Route 202
This route comprises one line: the northeastern line/B-Line. All seven of these stations opened on April 27, 1985; from most central to most northeastern, they are: Bridgeland-Memorial (closed from June to September to facilitate construction of a pedestrian overpass), Zoo, Barlow/Max Bell, Franklin, Marlborough, Rundle, and Whitehorn. An eighth station - McKnight-Westwinds - is planned to open in 2010, along with a northeastern LRT yard.
Future Lines
Plans exist to build two additional lines from the city centre: a westbound line (which would become the D-Line as an extension to Route 202) and a southeastern line (which would become the E-Line, and is expected become Route 203).
West Line
The plans for this line, which runs west from downtown, have existed since the beginning of construction of the A-Line in 1978; it is expected to open in 2018. Seven stations have been planned; they are expected to be named (from east to west): West End, Sunalta, 26th Street West, Westbrook, 45th Street West, Signal Hill, and 69th Street West.
Southeast Line
This line is planned to run from downtown to the new communities of Douglasdale and McKenzie in the southeast. Thirteen stations have been planned, of which up to seven are expected to be built by 2023. From the most central to the most southeasterly, they are: East Village, Inglewood/Ramsay, Highfield/Bonnybrook, Lynnwoon, Millican-Ogden, Glenmore/Riverbend, Douglasdale (the last station expected to be built by 2023), Shepard, New Brighton, McKenzie Towne, Auburn Bay, Health Campus (adjacent to a planned southeast hospital), and Seton.
Other Future Improvements
Currently, Calgary Transit operates trains of three light rail vehicles. The three newest stations - Dalhousie, Shawnessy, and Somerset-Bridlewood - have been built to accommodate trains of four cars, and it is planned to expand the original stations to support four cars. The downtown stations and the A-Line will be upgraded first, ending in 2013; followed by the C-Line (so as to be able to run four-car trains on Route 201) in 2015 and the B-Line in 2017. By 2023 Calgary Transit also plans to begin replacing some of the original model LRVs (as of 2004 eighty-two of the original eighty-three are in service, and are nearing twenty-three years of service - by 2023 they will be forty-two years old!)