The prospect of more passenger rail service to Jasper is something that Mayor Richard Ireland finds interesting.
“I could get on board with that,” he said.
At the end of April, the Alberta government announced that it would be developing a Passenger Rail Master Plan, which would include several public, private or hybrid passenger rail lines and rail systems. The province has put $9 million to support the plan’s development in Budget 2024.
One of the items in the plan involved regional rail lines from Calgary and Edmonton to the Rocky Mountain parks.
The announcement referenced the province’s record population growth and evolving transportation needs as demonstration of how essential advancing passenger rail infrastructure is to enhancing accessibility, efficiency, and connectivity across the province.
The Master Plan is intended to look decades into the future to establish the first steps that need to be taken in these early years to get there. Feasibility of inter-city, commuter and high-speed rail services will be assessed.
Alberta already has significant public mass transit systems in Calgary and Edmonton for the provincial passenger rail system to build upon, noted Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen in a press statement.
“The Master Plan will be a vital tool to guide the province on the next steps in advancing passenger rail,” Dreeshen said.
“It will provide certainty to the rail sector and ensure the most effective use of tax dollars and government authorities. We look forward to hearing from Albertans and working with municipalities, Indigenous communities and the private sector in advancing passenger rail in the province.”
Mayor Ireland noted how rail helped build Jasper, and railroaders have been integral to this community since the very beginning.
Beyond that, passenger rail service serves to bring visitors here and with the added environmental benefit of delivering them without adding vehicles on the roadways.
“Generally, I think that's a good thing. It integrates well with existing local tour opportunities that exist in the community. It would integrate well with our transit system, and with our goals of reducing congestion and reducing environmental impact.”
West Yellowhead MLA Martin Long said that his constituency has seen the benefits of passenger rail service. This leads him to be excited about the proposition, both for how it could benefit our future while still honouring the province’s history.
“This plan seeks to enhance accessibility, efficiency, and connectivity across Alberta, following through on our government’s mandate to examine the feasibility of a province-led commuter rail service to accommodate the needs of a growing province,” he said.
These being the early days of the Master Plan, details were unavailable on what direct service from both Edmonton and Calgary to Jasper would look like.
“The details will take some work and we'll see how things unfold over the next number of years, I suppose,” Mayor Ireland said.
