Edmonton Light Rail Transit Experience Larry McLachlan, Edmonton Transit Edmonton's light rail transit (LRT) line has now been in Leduc, and Parkland; and the municipal district of Stur• operation for more than 17 years. A summary of Edmon• geon. The combined population within the Edmonton ton's LRT experience in terms of system design, ridership, area is approximately 810,000, and the 1993 city of service, incident management, system performance, under• Edmonton population is 627,000. ground versus surface, staffing and security, fare payment, Annual temperatures in Edmonton can vary substan• accessibility, and operating costs is presented. The experi• tially between winter and summer. The warmest ences shared relate the lessons learned as well as the many monthly average for July was 19°C (66°F), with the improvements and quality initiatives undertaken. Edmon• warmest recorded summer temperature being 37°C ton's light rail operations are fully integrated with the city's (98°F). During winter, cold spells of -37 to -43°C overall transit network. Ridership has climbed from (-34 to -45°F) lasting several days can be experienced. 12,000 passengers a day in 1978 to 36,000 today. The line The lowest recorded average temperature for January is 12.3 km long, 4.7 km underground. There are six un• was —27.7°C ( —18°F). Average annual rain and snow• derground and four surface stations, several park-and-ride fall are approximately 450 mm (17.5 in.). During De• lots, and a fleet of 37 cars based at a modern maintenance cember the city receives approximately 203 mm of snow department. (8 in.); the maximum recorded snowfall in December was 813 mm (32 in.). ^ I 1 he city of Edmonton is located 670 m (2,200 ft) I above sea level at 53V2 degrees north latitude in EDMONTON TRANSIT OVERVIEW JL the province of Alberta, Canada. Edmonton is the provincial capital and the center of the province's Edmonton Transit began operations on November 1908 public administration. as the Edmonton Radial Railway with a fleet of seven Although government is Edmonton's major "busi• streetcars and 12 route-mi of track. By 1938 the Radial ness," the energy and petrochemical industries are of Railway had expanded to 74 streetcars and 54 route-mi. comparable importance. Large coal reserves and many Annual passenger volumes reached 14.2 miUion. producing oil wells exist within a short distance of the Beyond 1938, the street railway system gradually city. The refining of crude oil is centered in "refinery downsized as motor buses and electric trolley buses re• row" east of the city. placed streetcars. The first motor bus service was intro• The Edmonton area is composed of a number of duced in 1932, and electric trolley bus service began in communities surrounding the city of Edmonton. They 1939. As more and more trolley and motor buses be• include the city of St. Albert; the counties of Strathcona, came part of the public transit network, the name of Ed- 52 McLACHLAN 53 monton Radial Railway was changed in 1947 to its cur• On April 22, 1978, Edmonton became the first city rent name, the Edmonton Transit System. By the end of in North America of under 1 million residents to open 1951, streetcars ceased to be a part of Edmonton Transit. a new LRT system (Figure 1). Edmonton Transit continued to expand as the city grew from a population of approximately 159,000 in 1951. By the early 1960s the city's population had LRT SYSTEM OVERVIEW grown to 337,000, bringing with it growing traffic con• gestion. During the following years various transpor• This year marks the 17th anniversary of Edmonton tation studies were conducted to address this growing Transit's light rail line. When it opened on April 22, congestion. One of these studies, prepared in 1972, en• 1978, there were 6.9 km of double track and five sta• couraged the use of a modern European-style light rail tions, served by 14 light rail vehicles (LRVs). Today, transit (LRT) system. In 1973 city council approved the after three extensions, the line is 12.3 km long, 4.7 km construction of the Northeast Rapid Transit Line as ap• of which is underground. There are six underground proved by the UtiUties and Engineering Committee. (Figure 2) and four surface stations (Figure 3), several Construction began on September 30, 1974. park-and-ride lots, and a fleet of 37 cars based at a -4- FIGURE 1 City map with LRT line superimposed. CORONB STRTION BflY STRTICN CENTRfL STHTION CHURCHILL STHTION KM 9.9 KM 9.S KM 9.1 KM 8.S gSth ST PORTAL KM 7.6 0] QD COfiONR CENTRFL CHURCHILL CROSS-OVER SN SBl, SK SM 491 SN 497 SM 493, 494 SN 499, see SN 503 . 5B4 GRRNDIN STHTION DIVERSITY STRTION KM ie.7 KM 12.3 SOUTH PORTHL NORTH PORTH. KM 11.7 KM 11.0 GRME CROSSING FOR HIRRIL SOUTH PCRTH. ncccss CROSSOVER SN 487, 4BB SN 499. 49B FIGURE 2 Underground track, Edmonton Transit. BELVEDERE STHTION KM 2.3 anHEVICH STRTION KM e.e SGth ST TlMtL KM 3.1 D.L. MtcDONRLD frmfeiT YHRDS KM a.9 BEth ST M 129th RVE GWCE CROSSIW 137th ma GHRDE C3WX CROSSING SEHWrriON 5ath ST am HJIWIUOH TUmjT TU»OJT a 524, 525 3i 527 W 529 n 53e, 531 STRDIUM STHTION COLISEUM STHTION KM 6.3 KM 4.9 95th ST PORTRL KM 7.6 95th ST sand ST 112th AVE 82nd ST 115th fNE dRRDE CROSSING a«E CROSSING j 118th RVE l?Bth RVE TELLOttCHD TRBIL CRRDC CROSSING GRROE CROSSING 3WE CROSSING [GSHg SEPFRHTION GRUE CBOSSING GRRX SEPnRHTION CROSSOVER CROSSOVER TUSOJT 94 SK, 507 SM 509, 51B CROSSOVER SH 5IE » 51B, 519 FIGURE 3 Surface track, Edmonton Transit. 56 SEVENTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT modern maintenance depot. Total capital investment The Dudley B. Menzies Bridge, which parallels the has reached approximately $343 million (Canadian High Level Bridge, was constructed from precast con• dollars). crete segments. Although built exclusively for the light Starting from Clareview in the northeast, the light rail line, it incorporates a suspended footway and cy• rail line runs on the surface parallel to Canadian Na• cleway connection across the river. The south portal tional (CN) Rail tracks toward the city center (Figure and tunnel under the university were built using se• 4). A tunnel through the central downtown area leads quential excavation. to a bridge over the North Saskatchewan River, which University station was built by the tangent pile cut- brings the route to an underground terminus beneath and-cover method used for the earlier city center sta• the University of Alberta. There are eight level crossings tions. Given the elevation of the single track leaving the on the surface section, equipped with federally ap• southern end of the bridge, the station is the deepest in proved protection. Also situated along the surface route Edmonton, with the platform 23 m below road level. is the Northlands Coliseum, home of the National The station was opened in August 1992, completing the Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers, and Common• 6-year, $150 million extension. wealth Stadium, which is the venue for the city's pro• fessional football team and various other special events. The last extension was completed in 1992 to the Uni• EDMONTON LIGHT RAIL EXPERIENCE versity of Alberta. Construction of the 2.5-km extension from Corona to the university began in 1986. Approx• Over the past 17 years Edmonton Transit has gained a imately 20 prime contractors and 100 subcontractors great deal of experience, some of which the author were involved in this highly technical project, which in• would like to share. The experiences have been both cluded tunneling under high-rise structures through a good and bad, but for the most part good. variety of soil conditions and building a bridge across the North Saskatchewan River. A combination of tunnel boring and sequential excavation was used on the sec• Ridership tion between Corona and the north bank portal, in• cluding Grandin (Government Center) station, which Light rail operations are fully integrated with the city's opened in September 1989. overall transit network. The network is designed on a Legend SurhKB StarthMi Uwleiyound Pedway Station Connections Clareview 137 Ave. «f 43 St. Belvedere PEDWAY PEDWAY 130 Ave. «f Fort Road Hudaon'fl Bay Scotia Place Edmonton Centre Manulife Place McCaiiley Plaza Eaton Centre Eaton Centre Capital Square Citadel Tlieatre Edmonton Centre Manulife Place Centennial Libraiy Coliseum Royal LePa^ Eaton Centre Westln Hotel lie Ave. It 77 St Edmonton Centre Art Gallery Stadium University 89 Ave. ir 112 St. FIGURE 4 LRT link and route map. McLACHLAN 57 hub-and-spoke basis, with transit centers (including the tors, fare agents, and dispatchers. Another 28 are em• LRT stations) acting as hubs. Buses from residential ar• ployed in vehicle maintenance, 5 in fare equipment eas feed into the hubs and provide direct links between maintenance, 14 in plant maintenance, and 6 in admin• transit centers; timed transfers allow connections onto istration and engineering. other buses and light rail services. During the first 15 years, light rail ridership rose from 12,000 to 36,000 passengers a day; two-way System Performance peak-hour demand currently stands at 5,300 (i.e., a.m. peak-hour ridership is 4,440 in the southbound direc• System performance factors are recorded and reported tion and 860 in the northbound direction). monthly (Figures 5 and 6). Factors measuring the reli• The opening of the university extension in 1992 ability of the LRVs, signal system, traction system, brought a 50 percent increase in ridership, which can track, motorman performance, and miscellaneous sys• be attributed to two factors.