Jasper will ask province to fast-track Edmonton rail connection

CBC

a day ago

Jasper is moving full steam ahead to advocate for an Edmonton railway connection after a unified vote at council Tuesday.
The municipality says it will begin asking the province to include the rail link in the earlier stage of the province's railway master plan, despite rail planners telling Jasper administration the Edmonton connection had now been sorted into its 60-year possibilities instead of the 30-year network.
Jasper's Chief Administrative Officer Bill Given said the link would help boost Jasper's tourism sector by connecting it to an international airport in Edmonton, and also relieve some of the pressure that comes with heavy traffic.
Given also said council wants to ensure Jasper stays in the conversation as the province scales up its railway ambitions.
"I think council would want to be communicating to our MLA, to members of cabinet and the premier that it's important that Jasper is reflected in that plan and in more of a near-term horizon rather than the really long-term horizon," Given said.
After wildfires destroyed more than 30 per cent of the townsite's buildings last summer, advocates for the region are saying that a connection to the capital city would help ensure the future prosperity of the town and park as it rebuilds.
Paul Butler with the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce said the Edmonton link would help bring a steady flow of people without the traffic, noise, and pollution of cars.
When it comes to rebuilding, Butler said the long-term benefits far outweigh any short term costs.
"Short-term thinking is not a friend when we're talking about recovery of our destination from the wildfires," Butler said.
In April last year, the province announced it would undertake planning for a provincial railway system, which would include connections between Edmonton and Calgary with a stop in Red Deer. Links to other hubs like Banff and Edmonton and Calgary bedroom communities were also proposed.
A planning team has since been gathering input and feedback from experts, municipalities and the public to flesh out the details.
An Edmonton-Jasper connection had been considered for a 30-year timeline, but during a meeting in June, rail planners told Jasper administration the Edmonton connection had now been sorted into its 60-year plan instead.
Lower potential ridership, population growth projections, and high costs for the project were some concerns the planners voiced when it came to the feasibility of the link.
Transportation minister Devin Dreeshen told CBC in an email ahead of Tuesday's vote that planners are looking forward decades, and while they are weighing the feasibility of some options for the 30-year timeline, Jasper remains a possibility.
In the same report to council, Jasper administration said Canadian National Railway had voiced concerns to the province about a lack of room to lay track, and a lack of space in Edmonton with no surplus land to lay track into downtown.
"Concerns raised with respect to adding additional capacity in this corridor would have been in terms of managing the existing traffic and capacity demands," CN spokesperson Ashley Michnowski told CBC in an email.
"CN is supportive of passenger rail on independent, dedicated rail lines."
The report also said some unnamed Jasper partners expressed that the nearby town of Hinton should have been included in the region's growth projections.
To circumvent issues with space for rail track, Jasper administration suggested that the connection could end in Hinton. In Edmonton, administration argued it could connect to the LRT network by having the rail end near the west end's Lewis Transit Centre.
Public engagement for the province's project finished in June, and the final plan is slated for decision in the fall sitting.