Capital Line

Capital Line
290px Capital Line crossing the North Saskatchewan River
Overview
Type	Light rail
Locale	Edmonton
Termini	Clareview Century Park
Stations	15
Operation
Opened	April 22, 1978
Operator(s)	Edmonton Transit System
Character	Surface line outside of city centre, subway style line under downtown and the UofA.
Depot(s)	D.L. MacDonald Yard
Technical
Line length	21 km (13.0 mi)
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Operating speed	70 KM/h maximum.
Route map 250px

The Edmonton LRT Capital Line is a light rail transit line running from northeast Edmonton to the south. Operated by the Edmonton Transit System, the line provides access to Downtown Edmonton and the University of Alberta. The Capital Line currently consists of fifteen stations, six of which are underground. Seven stations are shared with the Metro Line.

History

On April 22, 1978 the line opened between Belvedere and Central stations. At the time (and for another 37 years) the system consisted solely of the single line. It was not named the Capital Line until 2012 when expansion plans were revealed for additional lines.

The 1980s were a decade of expansion for the Capital Line. It expanded northwards toward Clareview in 1981, and westwards toward Bay and Corona, under the downtown core in 1983. Another underground extension was completed in 1989 with the opening of Grandin Station.

One station opened in the 1990s, University, in August 1992. The underground station was connected to the downtown leg by the Dudley B. Menzies Bridge.

During the 2000s, under the mayorship of Stephen Mandel, the Capital Line was expanded southward. Health Sciences opened in 2006, the first new station in 14 years. In 2009, McKernan/Belgravia and South Campus opened, followed by Southgate and Century Park in 2010.

After the completion of the south leg of the Capital Line, city council shifted their efforts towards the new Metro Line.

Future

Approved LRT lines and stations

South expansion

In January 2008, Mayor Stephen Mandel announced that the southern leg will be extended further south along 111 Street to Anthony Henday Drive, and then west to 127 Street SW. There will be a station and a 1,400-car park-and-ride at the intersection of Ellerslie Road and 127 Street SW, then the LRT will continue south for another stop at 41 Avenue SW, with a possible new LRT yard in between. City council approved the route to the Ellerslie Station, and for construction to begin on the park-and ride in July 2009, but they have yet to announce when the station will be complete, as well as approval for the extension to city limits. There are no current plans for an extension to the Edmonton International Airport and Leduc. In late April 2012, the city launched bus route 747 from Century Park Station to the airport.

Northeast expansion

In 2008, Edmonton City Council approved a plan to extend the Capital Line northeast by one station to Gorman Towne Centre. On April 30, 2009, Mayor Stephen Mandel announced a $210 million project to extend the LRT system to a new Gorman Station with a park and ride lot, which was touted to accommodate commuters from outlying areas including Fort Saskatchewan. The expansion beyond Clareview Station was planned to continue along the CN right-of-way to a station and park-and-ride north of 153 Avenue and Victoria Trail. The plan would have received funding from three levels of government. However, funding was shifted to the Metro Line in July 2009 as city officials saw that line as a higher priority for the city. The city has not ruled out a near-future extension to Gorman. The City completed preliminary engineering on this project in 2010, however there is no budget or timeline for design and construction.

From a land use planning perspective, the City of Edmonton has approved two area structure plans beyond Gorman and Anthony Henday Drive that depict different alignments for further LRT extension into Edmonton's far northeast. Adopted in 2010, the Edmonton Energy and Technology Park Area Structure Plan depicts extension of the LRT along 50 Street across Manning Drive to the north, and then generally paralleling Manning Drive to approximately Highway 28A. This ASP qualifies that this "is a potential alignment only, and will be updated to reflect the completed planning for the Northeast LRT when a final route is determined."

Adopted in 2013, the Horse Hill ASP depicts extension of the LRT along 50 Street to the north, and then northeast along Fort Road to Meridian Street before crossing Manning Drive in a northwesterly direction into the Edmonton Energy and Technology Park. This ASP qualifies that "extension of LRT service will be subject to LRT system planning and design, as well as the availability of funding" and that the alignment it depicts "is preliminary and subject to change."

Stations

Station	Grade-Level	Transfer	Area	Opened	Location
Clareview	Surface		Northeast	April 26, 1981
Belvedere	Surface		Northeast	April 22, 1978
Coliseum	Surface		Northeast	April 22, 1978
Stadium	Surface		Northeast	April 22, 1978
Churchill	Underground	■ Metro Line ■ Valley Line (future)	Downtown	April 22, 1978
Central	Underground	■ Metro Line	Downtown	April 22, 1978
Bay/Enterprise Square	Underground	■ Metro Line	Downtown	June 21, 1983
Corona	Underground	■ Metro Line	Downtown	June 21, 1983
Grandin/Government Centre	Underground	■ Metro Line	Downtown	September 1989
University	Underground	■ Metro Line	South	August 23, 1992
Health Sciences/Jubilee	Surface	■ Metro Line	South	January 3, 2006
McKernan/Belgravia	Surface		South	April 26, 2009
South Campus/Fort Edmonton Park	Surface		South	April 26, 2009
Southgate	Surface		South	April 25, 2010
Century Park	Surface		South	April 25, 2010

Future stations

Station	Grade-Level	Area	Scheduled opening	Location
Gorman	Surface	Northeast	TBA
Ellerslie	Surface	South	TBA
Provincial Lands	Surface	South	TBA
Heritage Valley	Surface	South	TBA
Desrochers	Surface	South	TBA

External links

• Edmonton Transit System
• Edmonton Transit System–Future LRT