Race to build high-speed Calgary-Edmonton rail on with second pitch
The idea of a high-speed rail connecting Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary could be one step closer to becoming a reality with a new contender showing interest in developing a line.
On Thursday, construction and infrastructure development company EllisDon announced it had received a memorandum of understanding (MOU) from Alberta Transportation for its Prairie Link project.
In a news release, the company said the MOU was secured after the project was proposed within the province's unsolicited proposal framework and guideline.
According to EllisDon, the MOU lays the foundation for "cooperatively advancing project development."
EllisDon estimates the capital cost for the high-speed rail would total $9 billion, and boasted it could be "among the largest and most defining nation-building transportation projects in Alberta's history."
"The notion of high-speed rail — a proven technology around the world — connecting Edmonton, Red Deer, and Calgary in Alberta is not new, but we believe that its time has come," Jeffrey Hansen-Carlson, director with EllisDon Capital and Project Director for Prairie Link, stated in the news release.
"We have built a team with both the capacity and faith in the future of our province to advance it in a meaningful way for Albertans."
According to EllisDon, the Prairie Link team has already started Indigenous engagement for the private-sector project.
“I think it’s the heart and soul of this project,” Hansen-Carlson said, adding, “Our commitment is to support all of those communities having equity in this project.”
An advisory committee has been established to guide the project's development.
Last month, a feasibility study put out by high-speed transportation company TransPod suggested a hyperloop link between Calgary and Edmonton would create as many as 140,000 jobs while adding $19.2 billion to Alberta's gross domestic product.
Hansen-Carlen wished TransPod luck, but said EllisDon's technology is already proven.
“I think if you just stand back and listen to the conversations Albertans are having, they want this now, and the now solution is proven technology," he told CTV News Edmonton.
“Taking proven rail technology and applying what we know and executing it here for Albertans is very different from a company that is looking to prove technology.”
TransPod signed a MOU with the province in the summer of 2020 to determine the feasibility of a hyperloop between the two Alberta cities.
Hansen-Carlson is also is in charge of the Prairie Sky gondola project in Edmonton.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.