Edmonton Light Rail Transit - History

History

Edmonton was the first city in North America with a metropolitan population of less than one million to build a modern light rail system. The population was just over 445,000 when the route first started construction in 1974. It opened its first segment on April 22, 1978, in time for the 1978 Commonwealth Games. The line followed a CN right-of-way from Belvedere Station to Stadium Station (near Commonwealth Stadium), via an intermediate stop at Coliseum Station (near the Northlands Coliseum, now Rexall Place), and then continued in a tunnel under 99 Street to Central Station, at Jasper Avenue and 100 Street, including an intermediate stop, Churchill. The original line was 6.9 km long.

When the line opened, fare collection was modelled on traditional rapid transit lines, with booth attendants. Low volumes of activity at some entrances led to weekend closures of alternate station entrances. In November 1980, Edmonton Transit–as it was then named–switched to a modified European-style "proof of payment" system, initially retaining the old turnstiles to issue the new receipts. Fares were now collected by automated ticket vending machines with irregular proof of payment inspectors, which permitted keeping all entrances open and required fewer staff.

On April 26, 1981, ETS opened a northeastern-bound extension of 2.2 km on the CN right-of-way to Clareview Station. In June 1983, the light rail tunnel downtown was extended by 0.8 km to Bay and Corona stations. The D.L. MacDonald Yard, between Belvedere and Clareview, opened in December 1983 to store and service the vehicles. The line was extended in September 1989 by 0.8 km to Grandin (close to the Alberta Legislature). On August 23, 1992, the next extension opened from Grandin to University Station, partially via a North Saskatchewan River crossing with a lower level for pedestrians and cyclists, and partially via a tunnel into the station. On January 1, 2006, the line was extended 0.64 km south through the University Campus to the Health Sciences, which is located at street level.

On April 25, 2009, McKernan/Belgravia and South Campus were opened as part of the south LRT expansion, with Southgate and Century Park opening on April 24, 2010. The first of the new Siemens SD-160 light rail vehicle train cars for the new extension were shipped by rail from Florin, California, on April 24, 2008, arriving in Edmonton on May 9, 2008 (37 vehicles in total).

The LRT expansion was developed entirely at surface level with several underpasses, one at Belgravia Road and the other under 111 Street south of 61 Avenue. A short busway has been constructed from the South Campus station roughly parallel to Belgravia Road in conjunction with the South LRT expansion. The surface LRT line emerges to ground level just north of the Health Sciences Station at the University of Alberta, which opened in January 2006. From the Health Sciences Station, the South LRT line leads to the South Campus Station, followed by the Southgate and Century Park stations.

Every station on the line built since 1983 has been built with full accessibility for persons with disabilities. In the late 1990s, Clareview and Belvedere Stations were renovated to include a roof and also had their platforms lengthened to allow for the use of five-car trains.