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News articles about regional bus and transit,
biking trails
and high speed rail
2019
High Speed Rail
It's
the need for speed
Edmonton-Red Deer-Calgary Bullet Train waiting for provincial
approval
July 17, 2019, Red Deer Advocate (Mamta
Lulla)
A high-speed train project between Edmonton and
Calgary, proposed in April 2018, is in the hands of the United
Conservative government. Sebastien Gendron, CEO of tech startup
TransPod, says the $6-billion project, funded entirely by the
private sector, is in its initial stages. The Canadian tech company
has asked the UCP government for a commitment for the project before
securing $100 million from the private sector. The initial
(more)
Regional bus service
Connecting communities together through transit
Jan. 16, 2019, Red Deer Express (Editorial)
This week was the launch of the 2A South Regional Transit service,
which connects communities together in Innisfail, Penhold,
Springbrook and Red Deer. It serves as a huge benefit for people
wanting to be more connected with their friends, family or loved
ones. Or maybe to simply visit somewhere other than their own
community. The bus will make several stops in each community daily,
allowing for people to get to where
(more)
2018
Regional bus service
Rural bus routes axed
August 15, 2018, Red Deer Advocate
Three Greyhound bus passenger routes in Central Alberta will be
eliminated on Oct. 24 under the province's plan to open up bus
service to competition. A dozen rural routes in Alberta and
Saskatchewan will be cut, including Red Deer to Rocky Mountain
House, Red Deer to Consort and Camrose to Wetaskiwin. Greyhound
spokesperson Tom Olsen said the Consort route has an average of .6
passengers, the lowest passenger rate of those
(more)
Red Deer Transit
New transit technology coming to Red Deer
Six buses to test equipment
July 30, 2018, Red Deer Advocate (Susan
Zielinski)
Long waits at bus stops in the hot sun, rain or blowing snow will be
a thing of the past in Red Deer by the end of the year. Cameras and
new technology aboard Red Deer Transit will soon be boosting the
security and convenience of riding city buses. Six buses are being
equipped with stop announcement technology, passenger counting
equipment and cameras to test the new systems for two weeks before
they are installed in all
(more)
Regional bus service
Greyhound to end bus service in B.C., Alberta
July 9, 2018, Red Deer Express (Janice Dickson, Canadian Press)
Greyhound Canada says it is ending its passenger bus and freight
services in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and cancelling all
but one route in B.C. -- a U.S.-run service between Vancouver and
Seattle. As a result, when the changes take effect at the end of
October, Ontario and Quebec will be the only regions where the
familiar running-dog logo continues to grace Canadian highways.
"This decision is regretful and we
(more)
2016
Regional bus service
Greyhound leaving downtown
Greyhound Canada is going to move its Red Deer terminal to
Gasoline Alley in the New Year
Dec. 6, 2016, Red Deer Advocate (Paul
Cowley)
Greyhound Canada is on the move in Red Deer. The bus company plans
to move its terminal from downtown Red Deer to the east side of
Gasoline Alley. Greyhound regional vice-president Peter Hamel said
the company has had its eye on a highway location for years. "The
footprint in downtown Red Deer doesn't fit the business anymore,"
said Hamel, who was at Red Deer County's Tuesday municipal planning
commission meeting to present the
(more)
High Speed Rail
Comment
High time for high-speed rail
March 8, 2016, Red Deer Advocate (Doug Firby, Troy Media)
My recent tour of the remarkable Canadian Museum of Rail Travel in
Cranbrook, B.C., got me wondering why all of Canada cannot once
again have a viable rail passenger service. The museum contains a
collection of dozens of rail cars from the past 100+ years in
various states of repair. Collectively, they deliver a powerful
glimpse into what life must have been like during the glory days of
rail travel. Some of the partially restored cars
(more)
2015
Potential Rail Trail
CARTS Eyeing Mintlaw Bridge for
Trans Canada Trail Leg
Between Red Deer & Springbrook
July 7, 2015, Radio News
Broadcast - Sunny 94 FM website
Central Alberta Regional Trails Society is hoping both the County
and City of Red Deer will partner with them to make a leg of the
Trans Canada Trail System a reality between Red Deer and Springbrook.
The Society has studied routes for the trail, with 4 options
identified. CARTS President Paul Pettypiece says they are attracted
to the Mintlaw Bridge option, which brings with it great potential
for tourism "the Mintlaw Bridge is a 21
(more)
Potential Rail Trail
Mintlaw Trestle
Preservation opportunity should not be lost
June 23, 2015, Commentary - Innisfail Province (Paul Pettypiece)
Creating trail link to rail bridge an
opportunity not to be lost
June 16, 2015, Letter to the Editor - Red Deer Advocate (Paul
Pettypiece)
There are times in our history when the stars line up to create an
unusual opportunity to do something special that future generations will
cherish. This is one of those times.
A few years ago, Red Deer County was gifted for $1 the relatively
unknown, historic 644-metre-long Alberta Central Railway steel trestle
across the Red Deer River just a few kilometres southwest of Red Deer
along with the right of way from Hwy 2A to Benalto.
(more)
2014
High Speed Rail
Committee puts brakes on Alberta's
high-speed rail line
May 17, 2014, Red Deer Advocate (Josh
Aldrich)
The wait for a high-speed rail line will be extended for the
Edmonton and Calgary corridor. An all-party legislature committee is
recommending the provincial government not to invest in the project
at this time, but to begin acquiring the land needed for it. A
feasibility draft report, leaked to the Calgary Herald on Thursday,
says the province is not big enough to make the multi-billion-dollar
project financially viable. The committee met on
(more)
High Speed Rail
Time to think about future transportation
March 20, 2014, Red Deer Advocate (Evan
Bedford commentary on Energy & Ecology)
"What if the FAA required that jet aircraft be able to survive
crashes into the ground?" - Eric McCaughrin
McCaughrin is referring to U.S. government regulations on passenger
rail cars, which force them to resemble "bank vaults on wheels."
They are twice as heavy as their European counterparts because of
the slight chance that they might crash into a freight train ...
even if (like the Long Island Commuter Railroad) there are
(more)
High Speed Rail
'It's time to make that first step
forward'
Feb. 26, 2014, Red Deer Advocate (Paul
Cowley)
If Alberta is serious about a high-speed rail line the government
should pick a route and acquire the land now, said a number of those
who addressed an all-party MLA committee on Tuesday. Former Red Deer
mayor Morris Flewwelling said if the province doesn't start buying
up land now for a high-speed corridor property prices will keep
rising and become a "major stumbling block" for the project. The
success of a high-speed rail link
(more)
High-Speed Rail
Red Deer officials express enthusiasm
Feb. 12, 2014, Red Deer Advocate
Officials from Red Deer were enthusiastic boosters of high-speed
rail at recent meetings of a provincial committee that's studying
the issue. Tara Lodewyk, manager of the city's Planning Department,
and John Sennema, manager of its Land and Economic Development
Department, spoke at a Feb. 4 meeting of the Alberta's Economic
Future. Tim Creedon, executive director of the Red Deer Chamber of
Commerce,
(more)
2013
High Speed Rail
Talk of high-speed train line
picking up steam?
Dec. 11, 2013, Red Deer Advocate (Canadian Press)
EDMONTON -- Rapid population growth around the province has many
Albertans pushing for a high-speed passenger rail service.
That's what the standing committee on Alberta's Economic Future will
be examining in briefings this week with transportation officials
holding hearings in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer.
Paul Langan, the Founder of High Speed Rail Canada, says it's
something Albertans have wanted for a while.
But
(more)
High Speed Rail
City touting high-speed rail stop
at downtown station
Jan. 2, 2013, Red Deer Advocate (Laura Tester)
Alberta's high-speed rail may be decades away, but the province
should be acquiring the right-of-way along the Hwy 2 sooner than
later, say Central Alberta leaders.
Red Deer Mayor Morris Flewwelling will continue to press the
provincial government for high-speed rail to be built along the Hwy
2 corridor -- even though it's nowhere in future capital plans.
Flewwelling spoke this fall with Premier Alison Redford on how such
a project would
(more)
2012
Transit Heritage
Newest City ghost unveiled downtown
May 9, 2012, Red Deer Express (Tanis Reid)
The City of Red Deer has officially unveiled its 10th statue in its
Ghost Collection. The Downtown Business Association commissioned the
first ghost project in 1994. Red Deer is proud to have an
internationally renowned collection of life-size bronze statues that
tell the story of Red Deer. "The Ghost Project is one of the pieces
of Red Deer that distinguishes us as a community. It was started
with a dream that we would have a
(more)
Transit
Heritage
Ghost unveiled
May 5, 2012, Red Deer Advocate (Renee Francoeur)
The new bronze sculpture of Julietta Sorensen was
revealed to the public for the first time on Friday morning at
Sorensen Station downtown Red Deer. Sorensen, along with her husband
Gordon, was a prominent figure in the city's transit history.
'Waiting for Gordon' is the 10th sculpture in the Ghost collection
of public art, which commemorates key people and events from Red
Deer's past. It depicts Julietta looking south over a cup of
(more)
Potential Rail Trail
Red Deer County seeks partners to afford bridge access
April 17, 2012, Mountain View Gazette (Sylvia Cole)
Future work on the Mintlaw Bridge will require funding from other
associations, council heard last Tuesday.
The bridge, purchased by Red Deer County for $1, has since had
$205,000 invested in it for rehabilitation work while new estimates peg
opening it up to pedestrian traffic as much as $3.2 million.
Currently no one is allowed on or across the bridge which would
link to part of a regional trail system connecting from Highway 2A to
(more)
Potential Rail Trail
Mintlaw
County council looks at bridge
as tourist attraction
April 11, 2012, Red Deer
Advocate (Paul Cowley)
A former rail bridge across the Red Deer River is well suited as a
scenic walkway, but the millions of dollars to make it happen must
come from elsewhere, Red Deer County council agreed on Tuesday.
Council voted in favour of accepting the recommendation of
consultants to convert the former Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. span
into a tourist attraction and link to walking trails, complete with
viewing platforms and parking areas.
The cost of
(more)
Potential Rail Trail
Plans for
Mintlaw Bridge waiting
on public feedback
Feb. 7, 2012, Mountain View Gazette (Sylvia Cole)
Red Deer County is still collecting feedback from the public
to determine what to do with a 100-year-old bridge purchased by
council in 2010.
Purchased for $1, the county has since invested $205,000
for rehabilitation work on the Mintlaw Bridge, built originally for
the Alberta Central Railway that later became part of the Canadian
Pacific Railway.
A public open house was held Jan. 25 to garner feedback on the
county's draft bridge
(more)
2011
High Speed Rail
Fast-tracking bullet train
a ticket to nowhere
High-speed rail not really useful
unless anchored by efficient, effective
public transit: Flewwelling
Dec. 28, 2011, Red Deer Advocate (Laura Tester)
Premier Alison Redford is being urged to sit down with the mayors of
Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer before any dollars are taken out of a
$2-billion public transit program to fund high-speed rail.
Mayor Morris Flewwelling said the premier should discuss the issue
of high-speed rail and the GreenTRIP program during a sit-down
meeting with himself, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Edmonton Mayor
Stephen Mandel. He was speaking in
(more)
Transit Heritage
Classic bus cruises city streets
June 6, 2011, Red Deer Advocate (Brenda Kossowan)
Its most intimate friends call it a baby fishbowl -- the transit
drivers' nickname for an especially rare type of bus that now makes
an occasional tour through the streets of Red Deer. A scaled-down
version of GMC's classic New Look transit bus, the 40-year-old
retiree, originally based in Nelson, B.C., has to get out on the
streets once in a while, if for no other reason than to keep its oil
circulating. Otherwise, the seals dry up and
(more)
High Speed Rail
Column: Energy and Ecology
Steam good alternative for
high-speed rail link
April 20, 2011, Red Deer Advocate (Evan
Bedford)
"The commonly held view that the steam locomotive was replaced
because it was slow is incorrect. Many of today's diesel and even
electrically operated services are not appreciably faster than steam
was 50 or more years ago." - Colin Garratt
In fact, way back in 1938, a Pacific Mallard achieved the world
record for a steam train of 203 km/h. The record still stands.
When diesel trains phased out steam many years ago, the main reasons
were related to the environment (coal put out a lot of smoke that
urban areas already had enough of), constant maintenance of the
steam boilers, and labour costs (steam locomotives required a driver
as well as someone to shovel coal
(more)
High Speed Rail
Business officials laud rail
proposals
April 19, 2011, Red Deer Advocate
Business leaders in Red Deer
see proposals for new rail passenger stations in Edmonton and
Calgary as a good sign that the province is getting ready to move
forward with a high-speed rail project.
Bruce Schollie, president of the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce, said
on Monday that Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach's recent announcement of
a possible rail station in Edmonton offers local proponents some
hope that the province
(more)
Red Deer Transit
Transit to retire last high-floor
vehicle
Feb. 15, 2011, Red Deer Advocate
Red Deer Transit will soon
be entirely wheelchair accessible. The last high-floor bus, a 1980
GMC model, will be retired this week. In its place will be the
newest bus on city streets, a 2010 New Flyer model. Steve Parkin,
transit facilities superintendent with the City of Red Deer, said
this changeover marks a milestone in Red Deer's transit history.
"The old buses served us extremely well but the benefits of the
newest buses are many
(more)
High Speed Rail
Chamber pressing
high-speed rail plan
Jan. 21, 2011, Red Deer Advocate (Harley
Richards)
The Red Deer Chamber of
Commerce is hoping to fast-track high-speed rail.
Urging the Alberta government to move forward with the
long-contemplated project is one of six policy resolutions approved
by the Chamber board on Wednesday -- setting the stage for the
Alberta Chamber of Commerce to potentially adopt that position this
spring.
"We don't know where it's at and what's being done, so we'd like to
give a little nudge," said
(more)
2010
High Speed Rail
Our View (Editorial)
Train's future needs path
Nov. 4, 2010, Red Deer Advocate (John Stewart)
There are some disturbing
parallels between the laborious and acrimonious process to establish
a route for electricity transmission lines in Alberta and the
high-speed train proposal.
A new study commissioned by the Alberta Association of Municipal
Districts and Counties warns that an Edmonton-to-Calgary high-speed
rail service could have a dramatic impact on rural life in the heart
of the province. The report says a high-
(more)
High Speed Rail
High Speed Rail Study
Project creates issues for
rural residents
Nov. 3, 2010, Red Deer Advocate (Paul Cowley)
A new report says a
high-speed rail link could mean longer trips for rural drivers and
emergency services, split up farmland and pose a barrier to
wildlife.
While running trains at speeds up to 300 km/h from Edmonton to
Calgary will create a number of issues for rural residents and
communities, the report commissioned by the Alberta Association of
Municipal Districts and Counties does not weigh in on whether
high-speed rail is desirable or
(more)
Active Transportation
City council
adopts river valley plan
July 28, 2010, Red Deer
Express (Mark Weber)
City Council adopted a
trails and parks planning tool Monday night in the form of the River
Valley & Tributaries Park Concept Plan. The long-term plan's purpose
is to identify lands best suited for potential trails and parks
within the City of Red Deer's 'growth area'. Marking a collaboration
between the City of Red Deer and Red Deer County, one of the plan's
21 recommendations urges exploration of one day even designating the
Red (more)
High Speed Rail
Our View (Editorial)
High speed rail back on
July 7, 2010, Red Deer
Advocate (Greg Neiman)
By the time our school-aged
children start worrying about their own retirement funds, Alberta's
population is expected to be around six million. Three quarters of
that population will live on the Edmonton-Calgary corridor. Since we
happen to occupy the middle space, we'll call it the Red Deer
corridor and claim the two big cities as suburbs of us. All of that
isn't quite as fanciful as it sounds. If we look at one cornerstone
of the
(more)
High Speed Rail
Rail plan returns
Mayor, Chamber of Commerce,
elated province once again looking at
high-speed rail link
July 6, 2010, Red Deer
Advocate (Laura Tester)
A new provincewide
transportation study will hopefully further show the merits of
having high-speed rail stopping in Red Deer, says the president of
the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce.
Alberta Transportation will study the challenges and opportunities
facing roads, rail lines and airports up until 2050 -- a decision
that Don Mancuso supports.
The study is expected to be complete in 2011. "We would love
high-speed rail to stop in Red
(more)
Transit
Heritage
Parkade named Sorensen Station
June 16, 2010, Red Deer Express (Erin Fawcett)
Red Deer's downtown parkade
will be named after a local transportation pioneer. The parkade was
officially named Sorensen Station after City council gave its
approval on Monday night. The station is named after Gordon
Sorensen, who began a bus service in the City of Red Deer in 1957.
Sorensen died in 1981. Cecil Sorensen, Gordon's son, said his
parents would be "very pleased" to know the parkade had been named
after his
(more)
Transit Heritage
Sorensen Station name a fitting tribute
June 16, 2010, Red Deer Express (Michael Dawe)
On Monday, June 14 Red Deer City Council voted to name the new
downtown transit terminal/parkade 'Sorensen Station' in honour of
Gordon L. Sorensen. It is a fitting tribute to one of Central
Alberta's transportation pioneers, who is also remembered as a hard
working and highly principled businessman. Gordon Sorensen was born
on April 23, 1904 in Detroit, Michigan. He moved with his family to
a farm near Erskine, Alberta in
(more)
Transit Heritage
Downtown parkade to be named after
transportation pioneer Gordon Sorensen
June 15, 2010, Red Deer Advocate (Laura Tester)
Red Deer's new three-storey parkade will officially be
called Sorensen Station. City council approved on Monday the name of
the parkade at 4830-48 St. in recognition of Gordon Sorensen,
considered the transportation pioneer for Red Deer and surrounding
area. Sorensen launched transit service in Red Deer in 1957 and also
developed school bussing and all highway buses into Central Alberta.
Sorensen died in 1981 at the age of
(more)
High
Speed Rail
Get moving on high-speed
rail link: expert
June 11, 2010,
Red Deer Advocate (Laura Tester)
The Alberta government
should make a decision this year on developing high-speed rail
between Calgary and Edmonton, a transportation expert said in Red
Deer on Thursday.
Anthony Pearl, director of Urban Studies at Vancouver's Simon Fraser
University, told more than 80 elected leaders and business
representatives of the Central Alberta Economic Partnership that
it's important to get moving on high-speed rail. Pearl co-
(more)
High Speed Rail
Rural groups want
high-speed rail study
Concerns linger about track's
effect on countryside
March 24,
2010,
Red Deer Advocate (Matthew Gauk)
Rural municipal officials in
Central Alberta stand on both sides of the tracks when it comes to a
high-speed rail line in the Calgary-Edmonton corridor.
Worries over how such a line would affect life in the countryside
have prompted the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and
Counties to commission a study on the subject, president Don Johnson
said Tuesday.
The association -- made up of municipal districts and counties and
(more)
2009
Transit Heritage
Rare GM public bus saved by City bus man
Dec. 30, 2009, Red Deer Express (Johnnie Bachusky)
Steve Parkin has been a lover of transit buses for as long
as he can remember. He loves the way they sound roaring down a city
street, the smell of their diesel fumes and their many different
styles and shapes. For almost the past 21 years, Parkin, 44, has
worked for the City's transit department. He is now the transit
facilities superintendent, in charge of the light maintenance of the
City's 50 buses. He is truly at home, doing a
(more)
High Speed Rail
Political will lags behind
train
debate
October 19, 2009, Red Deer
Advocate (Brenda Kossowan)
Lack of political will is the biggest obstacle in front of bringing
high-speed passenger trains to the Hwy 2 corridor, say experts who
support the project.
Sixty-five people, mainly business leaders and municipal officials,
attended an information meeting in Red Deer County Chambers on
Wednesday to discuss a system connecting Edmonton, Red Deer and
Calgary.
The County, the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce and the City of Red
(more)
High Speed Rail
Province offers update on
high speed rail
July 8, 2009, Red Deer Express
(Mark Weber)
There's been a wave of
positive response to a market assessment study of high-speed rail
service for the Calgary-Edmonton corridor.
Released by the province this week, the reports says travelers could
get from city to city within one hour, and that by 2021 as many as
six million riders will have used the service. There would be a
stop-off in Red Deer as well.
Mike Axworthy, president of the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce, said
it's
(more)
Active
Transportation
Building trails to
paradise
March 18, 2009, Red Deer
Advocate (Paige Aarhus)
Red Deer County hopes several
recreational pilot projects will help them move forward with its
Open Spaces Master Plan. Trails connecting Springbrook to Penhold
and Spruce View to Dickson, and a Cottonwood day-use area near
Dickson Dam, have been touted as the first step towards turning Red
Deer County into an outdoorsman's paradise. "As we go through the
implementation of those projects, we will learn the
(more)
2008
Potential Rail Trail
Clearwater County calls on province for advice about trail
April 24, 2008, Red Deer
Advocate (Paul Cowley)
Clearwater County wants the province's help in sorting out access
issues along a proposed scenic trail along an abandoned rail line
west of Rocky Mountain House. A letter has been sent to Alberta
Sustainable Resources Development Minister Ted Morton asking that
the province get involved in smoothing the way for the trail by
working out agreements with companies owning timber rights along the
anticipated 120-km trail route from
(more)
High Speed Rail
Company pushes for
high-speed rail
April 2, 2008, Red Deer Express (Mark Weber)
If Alberta High Speed Rail
Inc. has its way, Albertans could be zipping between Calgary and
Edmonton via high speed rail in five years.
Ralph Garrett, vice president of the Calgary-based company spoke at
the Kiwanis meeting this week about the project which could cost
about $1.8 billion.
Talk of high speed rail in Alberta has been going on for years, but
Garrett said the time is now to launch the project.
All that's needed is the
(more)
High Speed Rail
Rail group
projects service in
five years
April 1, 2008, Red Deer
Advocate (Brenda Kossowan)
Local passengers could be riding North America's first bullet train
in as little as five years, says an engineer from Alberta High-Speed
Rail Inc.
All it would take is for the province to give the green light, Ralph
Garrett, vice-president, infrastructure for the Calgary firm told
Kiwanis members in Red Deer on Monday night.
"Alberta's ready for high-speed rail. Everything's coming together.
The stars are in alignment." Garrett said that, to the
(more)
2005
Active Transportation
Advocate View (Editorial)
On the trail of a worthy plan
Sept. 9, 2005,
Red Deer Advocate (Greg
Neiman)
Every community needs people who can take a good idea, hold on to it
and patiently work it into completion. People like Bob Johnstone,
president of the Central Alberta Region Trail Society. He's bought
into the idea that a national network of cycle and hiking trails
would be a great legacy, and he's willing to invest an awful lot of
his time to help bring local sections of that network into
existence. Red Deer's trail system added 29 km to
(more)
News
articles about the vision and progress of the Forth Junction Heritage Society
News articles related to the railway
heritage of Central Alberta
News articles about green transportation:
transit, biking and high speed rail
News articles about recent
rail-related development projects in Central Alberta
News articles about related regional heritage,
history and culture
News articles about regional destinations, tourism
and miniature worlds
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