A new phase is in the works for Alberta's 1,000 km/h high-speed train

A new step is in the works for the proposed 1,000 km/h train in Alberta, with plans to develop a test bench on a piece of land in the province’s capital region.

Transpod tells Daily Hive that there are plans to build a 75-metre-long test bench on a piece of land in Edmonton to “validate and finalise the infrastructure,” after teasing it in its 2024 newsletter.

The company says its priority “at this point” is the test bench to validate that structure before it kicks off building a full-scale test track.

“At the same time, we are working on a number of moving parts in preparation for building the test track (e.g. obtaining a construction permit, obtaining right of way, launching public consultations, and finalizing the infrastructure cost),” Dianna Lai Read of Transpod said.

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The company expects that by the end of 2025, it will have finished building the test bench, which will then be used to run tests on its proposed process to build the test track.

After that is complete, Transpod will begin constructing the test track, and once the test track has been built, it will be used to test the pods.

TransPod has previously said the project will create up to 140,000 jobs and add $19 billion to the region’s GDP over the course of construction.

The train is believed to take passengers from Calgary to Edmonton in 45 minutes.

US$550 million of private funding from the Broughton Capital Group and the China-East Resources Import & Export Company was announced for the project in March of 2022, with the construction of a full inter-city line expected to begin in 2027.

With files from Omar Sherif