Edmonton Light Rail Transit

Overview

Locale

Edmonton, Alberta

Transit type

Light rail

Number of lines

Number of stations

Daily ridership

112,531 (2016)

Operation

Began operation

April 22, 1978

Operator(s)

Edmonton Transit System

Technical

System length

24.3 km (15.1 mi)

Track gauge

1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) (standard gauge)

Electrification

Overhead lines, 600 volts DC

System map

Edmonton Light Rail Transit, commonly referred to as the LRT, is a light rail system in Edmonton, Alberta. Part of the Edmonton Transit System (ETS), the system has 18 stations on two lines and 24.3 km (15.1 mi) of track.

ETS designates the first line as the Capital Line. The 21-kilometre line starts at Clareview in Edmonton's northeast and ends at Century Park in Edmonton's south end. The Metro Line is a 3.3-kilometre (2.1 mi) extension of the system from Churchill LRT Station in downtown Edmonton northwest to NAIT LRT Station. It had been scheduled to open in spring 2014, but was delayed to September 6, 2015. The first phase of the 27 kilometres (17 mi) Valley Line, which is planned to run from downtown Edmonton to Mill Woods, began construction in spring 2016 after the contract was finalized in February 2016.

In 1962, Canadian Bechtel Ltd. was commissioned to develop a plan for Edmonton's rapid transit system. Construction began in 1974 with a budget of $65 million. Edmonton became the first city in North America with a metropolitan population of less than one million to build a modern light rail system. The population was just over 445,000 when construction started on the route in 1974. It also became the first city in Western Canada to operate a rapid transit system. Testing of the new line started in 1977 with regular service starting April 22, 1978, in time for the 1978 Commonwealth Games. The line followed a CN right-of-way from Belvedere Station to Stadium Station (near Commonwealth Stadium), via an intermediate stop at Coliseum Station (near Northlands Coliseum), and then continued in a tunnel under 99 Street to Central Station, at Jasper Avenue and 100 Street, including an intermediate stop at Churchill Station. The original line was 6.9 km long.

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