Alberta teases "inevitable need" for high-speed rail between Edmonton and Calgary

The Alberta government tapped into the notion of a high-speed rail connecting Edmonton and Calgary during its throne speech yesterday afternoon.

Delivered by Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Salma Lakhani, the province says Alberta is set to grow by one million people over the next five years, bumping up to 10 million people by 2050.

Due to the current population projections, the UCP government says growth must occur for “investment in our municipalities and provincial transportation network.”

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The province said it must “decongest our highways to Kananaskis and Banff with a passenger rail tie between the Calgary airport, downtown Calgary, and Canmore/Banff.”

The speech also touched on “the inevitable need” for high-speed rail through the Calgary-Red Deer-Edmonton corridor, where the province is projecting that six to seven million Albertans will eventually call that corridor home.

The idea of a high-speed tube between Edmonton and Calgary has been floated in the province for many years, which would see trains reach 600 km/h with five stops between the two cities.

You can read the full throne speech here.