If a long-anticipated passenger rail project stays on track, it would mean international visitors could jump on a train at the airport and ride through downtown Calgary on their way to Banff.
It would mean Calgary skiers and hikers and shoppers could ride to Canmore and Banff, or stop in Cochrane for ice cream at McKay’s. Or do both.
And it would mean the hundreds (thousands?) of Cochranites crowding the highway into Calgary in their cars on the way to work each day could instead take the train and enjoy their morning coffee and newspaper in stress-free comfort while getting to work faster than they did by car.
To hear Bruce Graham tell it (like he did at Glenbow Ranch park last week) it isn’t about if the rail line will be built, but when.
Graham is the Executive Director of Friends of Calgary Airport to Banff Rail, an independent not-for-profit entity created to increase awareness and advocate for passenger rail service in the Bow Valley Corridor (friendsofcabr.com).
As he outlined the lengthy history of the project for a crowd of interested onlookers on Jan. 15, Graham’s overriding tone was one of optimism. He characterized the multi-billion dollar project as long overdue.
Or as one of the testimonial writers on their website says: “Because it makes sense and should have been done decades ago.”
As outlined in its recently updated proposal, the rail line would run from the airport to downtown Calgary before heading to Banff with stops at stations in west Calgary, Cochrane, Stoney Nakota Nation, Canmore and Banff.
Passenger trains would run every 20 minutes, a selling point for Cochrane commuters.
To bolster this argument, he cited Premier Danielle Smith’s ongoing support for the project, and mentioned Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung as a fan.
But if the multi-billion dollar project is to go from dream to reality, there may be a political wrench thrown into the works at the federal level that threatens to derail the project – or at least make the goal of completion by 2030 overly ambitious.
That wrench takes the form of a pre-election pledge from Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who has promised to scrap the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) if elected.
The way the current rail plan works, a low-interest loan from the CIB forms an important part of the financing for the public-private partnership (P3).
So it would be back to the drawing board in terms of the overall financing package.
According to the Friends of CABR, the CIB financial support, which is cheaper than Government of Alberta can borrow, makes the proposed P3 solution much more cost effective than the traditional public transit funding model and also supports a much higher level of risk transfer to the private sector and away from the Alberta taxpayer.
Up to 50 per cent of the capital funding required to build CABR is projected to be provided by the CIB over 50 years at a low interest rate (one per cent at the time of the MoU between Alberta and CIB). The remaining capital costs would be financed by the proponents (Liricon/Plenary) through equity and debt at commercial rates.
In an interview, Graham maintained his optimism for the project even in the event the CIB does indeed become a thing of the past.
He cites history as a basis for believing that Ottawa would always have an interest in supporting crucial infrastructure projects in some way, regardless of political stripe or whether they call it the CIB or something else.
His history with the project started in 2021.
“In November of 2021 there was not much going on for Alberta," he said. "The price of oil was in the tank, downtown Calgary was 30 per cent vacant, we were just coming out of COVID . . . So to have a project like this that first of all connects the airport to downtown – which is table stakes of any global city today – and to combine that with addressing the issues and challenges of a national park and traffic and vehicle congestion there, you marry those two things together, and I thought, well, this is so compelling."
“Regardless of who’s in power and what financing mechanisms are in place this is hugely important and it’s actually realistically doable.”
Graham said the project stands on its merits, and he’s confident proponents can keep it from going off the rails.
“This far less expensive than building a Green Line (in Calgary), which is only going 17 kilometres," Graham said. "We’re going 150 kilometres, connecting the airport to downtown and downtown to a national park."
“Maybe I’ve got rose-coloured glasses, but that’s why I’m here.”
Genung has been an ardent supporter of the project since he learned about it. He’s chair of the Bow Valley Corridor Alliance.
“It’s something I’ve been so excited about and see the value of, and I just have so much hope that we, as a province, can see this through,” he said.
Genung recognized the possibility that Poilievre’s stance on the CIB threatens to derail the project.
One hypothetical scenario might be that the project gets approval from the CIB while it still exists, which could translate into an ongoing financial commitment regardless of the outcome of the election, but that would be a tight timeline for a project of this scope.
The known unknowns in the equation remain.
Poilievre would need to make most pollsters correct in predicting a Conservative win in the upcoming election.
And it would remain to be seen how much of an appetite a Poilievre government would have in financially supporting a massive infrastructure project in the wake of scrapping the CIB.
The Friends of CABR presented an updated proposal through the Province’s Unsolicited Proposal Framework last week and are awaiting a response.
The hydrogen-powered rail service would provide a seamless, eco-friendly “one-seat ride” from Calgary’s airport to Banff, reducing traffic and emissions. By connecting major tourism hubs, CABR would bolster the local economy and enhance the travel experience for millions of visitors annually—all at no cost to the province.
A condition of the CABR proposal is access for three trains per hour on a Calgary Airport to Downtown Express (CADE ) passenger rail service the province intends to build as part of their vision for passenger rail.
The CADE solution is an innovative strategy proposed by the CABR proponents that resolves the challenges of integrating the Calgary downtown express with the city’s Green Line LRT, enhancing the efficiency and reach of Calgary’s transit system. It will also accommodate delivery of passenger rail service to Banff and future regional rail service to Airdrie and Okotoks at no cost to the province, enhancing regional connectivity and supporting sustainable tourism and commuter travel.
