Liricon Capital Ltd. and Plenary Americas have announced they have restructured their Calgary Airport Banff Rail (CABR) project plan that had been submitted to the Alberta government in 2021.

Liricon and Plenary said they will pay for the infrastructure out to Banff at no cost to taxpayers.

While the CABR will take time, they said they support the Alberta government’s plan to advance development and to build and operate an express passenger rail service from the Calgary Airport Terminal to downtown and a Grand Central Station in the Rivers District.

“Liricon/Plenary’s restructured Calgary Airport Banff Rail proposal allows the province to leverage the government’s investment by integrating with a private sector solution,” said Liricon Managing Partner Jan Waterous in a Wednesday press release.

“In doing so, the province will maximize the impact of its investment since the Grand Central Station to Banff line will require no provincial tax dollars.”

Should the Alberta government decide to build the track from the terminal to downtown and Grand Central Station and provide track access for three CABR trains per hour along the route, Liricon and Plenary said they will develop and build the track out to Banff and operate it at no cost to taxpayers.

They added this line would be structured as a public-private partnership and provide reliable, high frequency, multi-class mass transit on a dedicated track in the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) rail corridor.

Since they submitted their proposal in 2021 to the Alberta government, there have been several major developments for the advancement of regional rail.

The Alberta government has progressed regional rail over the last two years by advancing the Airport Rail Connection Study, initiating the Regional Rail Master Plan Study, identifying the opportunity for the Grand Central Station in the Rivers District, and collaborating with the City of Calgary to integrate the Green Line.

Based on this work, Liricon and Plenary said the Alberta government has signalled it is contemplating developing the express passenger rail service from the Calgary Airport Terminal to downtown and the Grand Central Station because of its unique position to accommodate multiple stakeholders and future regional routes and resolve the CPKC rail corridor downtown pinch point.

They said they updated the underlying approach to CABR in their proposal incorporating this new vision and supporting the Alberta government’s for regional rail.

Should the Alberta government build the 20 km track from the airport stop to downtown, resolve the CPKC rail corridor downtown pinch point, and construct Grand Central Station, they would build 130 km of track west to Banff by twinning the existing one in the CPKC rail corridor to its specifications. They would build platforms or support stations in the Beltline, Calgary West, Cochrane, Stoney Nakoda, Canmore, and Banff.

They will operate three CABR trains per hour from the Calgary Airport Terminal to Grand Central Station and onto Banff. Additionally, they will provide multi-class service.

The Alberta government will provide CABR track access at no cost for three trains per hour from the Calgary Airport Terminal to Grand Central Station. It would make no contribution for CABR’s development, capital, or operating cost.

“A plan that has the province develop the 20-km route from the airport to downtown, along with a new Grand Central Station and Liricon/Plenary developing the 130-km route from Grand Central Station to Banff, creates a strong, taxpayer-friendly solution to providing passenger rail service in a critical transit corridor,” said Plenary President Brian Budden.

Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen responded by saying the government “remains supportive of private sector-led and funded infrastructure projects, and the Passenger Rail Master Plan will be a vital tool going forward to provide the province and industry clarity on the most efficient and timely use of tax dollars.”

“No decisions regarding any private sector proposals will be made until the Master Plan is completed,” said Dreeshen.

The Alberta government said in April it was looking to the next century to advance plans for a massive expansion of commuter rail.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced her passenger rail plan that will look forward decades and identify concrete actions that can be taken now and in the future to assess its feasibility, including regional, commuter, and high-speed services.

The obvious priorities are linking Calgary and Edmonton, their airports, and the mountain parks. Further links to Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray are on the books.

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