Edmonton Line opens

At 05.15 on Saturday 4 November the first passengers boarded the new 13.1km Valley Line in the Canadian city of Edmonton. Linking 102nd St in the city centre with Mill Woods in the south-eastern suburbs, using 26 Bombardier Flexity Freedom 42m double-ended low-floor LRVs providing a 10-minute service, the CAD 1.8bn project was inaugurated three years behind schedule due to the COVID Pandemic, supply-chain problems and infrastructure issues. 

 

Work started in April 2016 under a PPP contract with TransEd Partners, a consortium formed by Bechtel, Bombardier, EllisDon and Fengate Capital Management; the federal government contributed CAD 250M and the Alberta provincial government CAD 600M. 

 

The Valley Line is a street-based surface line, unlike the original Edmonton light rail system, opened in April 1978 using Duewag high-floor U2 LRVs and serving a subway in the city centre. There is interchange between the two systems at Churchill, the second stop on the Valley Line. 

 

Revenue service started with the first timetabled departure on 4 November; a grand ‘opening’ ceremony is planned for 2024, by which time a five-minute peak service should be scheduled. An expansion to 27km by adding a 14km western extension to Lewis Farms is under construction for completion in 2027.