Calgary Airport – Banff Passenger Rail Proposal
September 19, 2022
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Wild Lands Advocate article by: Devon Earl, AWA Conservation Specialist
Click here for a pdf version of the article.
You may have heard news of a proposed passenger train that would go from Calgary airport to Banff, with five stops along the way (Calgary Downtown, Calgary Keith, Cochrane, Morley [Stoney Nakoda], and Canmore). Liricon Capital Inc., the proponent of this project and owner of the Norquay Ski Resort, hopes to bring the project to completion and operation by 2025. Liricon claims that the train could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by taking vehicles off the road and by potentially powering the train with hydrogen. AWA and other conservation organizations have many questions about this ambitious goal, and whether a train is the best way to achieve it. We also have concerns about how a train could negatively affect wildlife and habitat connectivity in the already stressed Bow Valley. In July 2022, the Alberta government announced that it is not willing to support this development due to the financial risk of the project.
