JASPER – Council is expected to advocate for the inclusion of an Edmonton-to-Jasper regional service in the Alberta government’s 30-year network of the Passenger Rail Master Plan, rather than in the 60-year possibilities.
CAO Bill Given presented an update on the Passenger Rail Master Plan to council on Tuesday (July 15).
“Administration is suggesting here that the long-term future of access to Jasper would benefit from being improved with dependable rail service,” Given said.
In April 2024, the Alberta government announced the development of a Passenger Rail Master Plan, which would include exploring a regional rail line between Edmonton and Jasper National Park. The master plan is slated for decision in the fall sitting of the Alberta Legislature.
According to Given, the Province is looking at the development of a system in three different time horizons: a 15-year delivery plan, a 30-year network and 60-year possibilities.
Although the Edmonton-Jasper service was initially included in the 30-year network, the Province reclassified this to the list of 60-year possibilities. Given noted it was concerned about the congestion on the CN line from Edmonton to Jasper and how there was not much room for an additional corridor into the city of Edmonton.
“As a result, it ended up being in this initial analysis, from the Province’s consultant's perspective, more costly and complex and so likely a longer-term play,” Given said.
Since last fall, the project team has engaged with around 20,000 Albertans. It recently met with representatives with the Municipality of Jasper and other local stakeholders on June 13.
Given said there was concern among stakeholders that a 60-year horizon would be too long for an Edmonton-Jasper service and advocacy would help keep this idea “more towards the front burner.”
Jasper stakeholders also raised concerns about the data used to determine potential ridership numbers and current traffic flows along the Edmonton-Jasper corridor.
They highlighted the technical constraints for gathering traffic data along Highway 16 and how Hinton’s continued growth pattern should be considered, especially for visitor accommodations since tourists stayed in Hinton when Jasper’s hotels were full.
“We obviously would acknowledge that there are technical challenges, and that different types of solutions that might be sort of immediately on the table should be considered,” Given said. “But ultimately, there needs to be a voice from the local government saying that Jasper needs to be a priority.”
Given added how there was a high degree of interest from Tourism Jasper and the Jasper Chamber of Commerce.
Jasper partners have suggested ways to reduce the cost of the rail line, such as terminating the west leg of the service in Hinton and having a bus service transfer people the rest of the way to Jasper.
Another suggestion was to terminate the east leg of the rail service at Edmonton’s west-end Lewis Estates Transit Centre, which would connect passengers to Edmonton’s LRT network for downtown and southside connections as well as bus routes for other destinations.
In addition to advocating to the Province, Coun. Rico Damota suggested reaching out to Alberta Municipalities and Edmonton airports.
“We really need to promote that and I think for the future of visitation here in Jasper, particularly with the situations we’re in with people travelling in vehicles,” Damota said.
Coun. Helen Kelleher-Empey noted how the Province was looking to promote tourism, and tourism was typically down in the winter since Jasper was four hours away from the Edmonton airport, and most people do not want to travel on highways in snowy conditions.
“To have a high-speed rail here would open up a whole new winter economic sphere for our community to prosper,” Kelleher-Empey said.
Mayor Richard Ireland described how a Via Rail train can bring in more passengers than the largest jetliner other than an Airbus A380.
“The train can bring in 750 passengers, none of whom have a car that we have to deal with,” Ireland said. “It is a real prospect, and I would be happy to engage.”
Coun. Kathleen Waxer agreed that a regional train service would be "a real gamer changer" when it came to dealing with limited parking in Jasper.
Council will vote on whether to advocate for the Edmonton-Jasper service at next week’s meeting. Ireland said this would give time for the municipality to reach out to industry partners.
