Calgary C-Train (Light Rail)

Description

Calgary Transit operates a 27.8 mile (44.8 km) light rail transit (LRT) system, commonly called the C-Train. The heart of the system is the downtown transit mall along 7th Avenue. From it, lines extend to the northwest, northeast and south, operated as two routes:

201 - Somerset-Bridlewood (South Line) to Dalhousie (Northwest Line)
202 - 10th Street SW (downtown) to McKnight/Westwinds (Northeast Line)

Most of the system is on the surface. There are some short tunnels, but no underground stations.

The fleet consists of 82 Siemens-Düwag type U2 cars (delivered 1981-1990) which are very similar to the ones used in Edmonton and San Diego, and 32 Siemens type SD-160 cars (delivered 2000-04). A further 40 SD-160 cars went into service beginning in 2006. Trains normally consist of three cars, but station platforms are now being lengthened to accommodate four-car trains.

The first section opened in 1981, consisting of the downtown section along 7th Avenue and the South Line as far as Anderson. The Northeast line opened in 1985, and the Northwest Line opened to University in 1987. Further extensions have been made to all three lines, the most recent being the McKnight/Westwinds station on the Northeast Line in 2007. A one-station extension of the Northwest Line, to Crowfoot, is under construction and is scheduled to open in spring 2009.

Pictures

These pictures were taken in May 2004, at the beginning and end of a trip that also included Edmonton and Vancouver. I encountered an extreme variety of weather: cool with cloudy skies on the first evening, a snowstorm (!!) the following day, and bright clear sunny weather at the end of the trip.

The U2 cars have a split windshield at the front, while the SD-160s have a single-piece windshield.

Downtown Spine (7th Avenue)

[picture] Stations along 7th Avenue are staggered so that eastbound and westbound stations are in alternate blocks. This is the eastbound station at 6th Street SW.

[picture] Some new track lies on the ground waiting to be put into place, on 7th Avenue near 6th Street SW, where the Northwest Line branches off.

[picture] A view of the Olympic Plaza station from the Calgary Tower’s observation deck.

[picture] After the Northwest Line diverges, the tracks continue one block west on 7th Avenue to a simple stub terminal at 10th Street SW. Trains for the Northeast Line begin and terminate here. There are long-term plans to extend this stub into a West Line. Until then, the restaurant next to the station can keep its descriptive name [picture].

Northwest Line

[picture] The Northwest Line leaves downtown Calgary by crossing the Bow River on this bridge.

[picture] The first station north of the bridge is Sunnyside, in a residential area with streets crossing the tracks at grade.

[picture] North of Sunnyside, the line climbs a long steep hill out of the Bow River valley.

[picture] The outer part of the line runs in the median of Crowchild Trail, an expressway.

[picture] At the time of my visit, Dalhousie was the end of the line, having opened just a few months earlier in December 2003. A further short extension is now under construction, to Crowfoot.

South Line

The South Line leaves the 7th Avenue spine near its east end.

[picture] Looking back from the Victoria Park – Stampede station, we can barely see the downtown skyline, shrouded in snow and fog. In the distance, a tunnel carries the C-Train under the Canadian Pacific Railroad tracks. The main destination at this station is Stampede Park, home of Calgary’s annual rodeo and Western extravaganza, the Stampede. A third track and side platform [picture] accommodate special service for the Stampede.

[picture] An aerial view of Victoria Park – Stampede from the Calgary Tower.

[picture] A southbound train arrives at Anderson in the snow.

[picture] At the time of my visit, Fish Creek – Lacombe was the end of the South Line. Since then, the line has been extended two stations to Somerset – Bridlewood.

Northeast Line

[picture] The Northeast Line, like the Northwest Line, has to cross the Bow River as it leaves downtown Calgary. This view is from the observation deck in the Calgary Tower.

[picture] News flash! Dinosaurs attack C-Train at Zoo station!

[picture] The line climbs out of the Bow River valley in the median of Memorial Drive. The platform at Barlow offers an excellent view of the Calgary skyline. The sign on the front of the train is for the Calgary Flames hockey team, who were playing in the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs that week.

[picture] Interior of the Franklin station, which is typical of the stations along the outer end of the Northeast Line.

[picture] The outer end of the Northeast Line runs in the median of 36th Street NE, a major artery lined with shopping plazas and other stores. This view looks north across the intersection of Marlborough Drive, from a pedestrian bridge at the station shown in the next picture.

[picture] Like the other stations along 36th Street, the Marlborough station has pedestrian bridges to both sides of the street.

[picture] A northbound train arrives at the platform at Marlborough. School had apparently just let out, and the midafternoon trains were crowded with students.

[picture] A bit further north, a northbound train approaches the Rundle station.

Other Sites

Calgary Transit (official Web site)
Wikipedia article about the C-Train (includes maps)
Steve Perry’s LRT in Calgary
John Leung’s article about the C-Train, with pictures, on nycsubway.org
Iron Road’s Calgary Transit C-Train site
Calgary’s C-Train, by a former motorman; has many pictures taken from a motorman’s point of view

🚈 Calgary, Alberta: Light Rail (C-Train)