Banff passenger rail project still working on provincial and environmental support
An ambitious proposal to bring daily rail service between Calgary and Banff is waiting on provincial dollars to secure the next step in making it a reality.
The company behind the project - Liricon Capital - says it's looking for roughly $10 million from the province in the near future to go along with $750 million already committed by the company and Canada Infrastructure Bank for building the line.
Jan Waterous of Liricon Capital said her company has already put up roughly $105 million and is waiting on the province to commit. But as recently as Monday, Premier Jason Kenney said that he's concerned about the cost to taxpayers.
"So far, we have not seen an economic case," Kenney said. "We are not prepared to write an unlimited cheque."
"We are always prepared to make strategic investments in capital infrastructure," Kenney continued. "But we don't think the government of Alberta's core business is to provide massive decade-long subsidies to operations of what is ultimately a private business."
But Waterous - who is a part owner of the project - says the comments misrepresent what her group is proposing.
"If this train costs more than the $1.5 billion that the government studies have said it will cost, that is on Liricon," Waterous said. "With no risk to the province, zero risk to the province.”
She said that the commonly used figure of $30 million a year for 50 years doesn't take into account a cost sharing plan that would reduce the province's burden if the service attracts enough passengers.
"We can move that down considerably and possibly to zero if we had other incentives to increase ridership,” Waterous said.
The premier has also had vocal praise for the plan - touting its promise of significantly reducing traffic on the Trans Canada Highway, reducing emissions and potentially easing Banff's staff accommodation and occasional labour issues.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
But prominent environmental groups say they have their concerns about the potential for increased visitors and for wildlife such as grizzly bears and elk to be hit by trains or unable to move freely across the busy valley.
The potential doubling of trains within the region is only going to exponentially increase the impact on wildlife if connectivity is not addressed," says Josh Welsh, with Y2Y. "If underpasses, overpasses and fencing are not provided."
Linear disturbances such as roads, rail lines or power lines all have differing degrees of impact on many wildlife species, particularly grizzly bears.
The bears often cover huge distances pursuing food or mates, and transportation corridors are a significant cause of death for the provincially threatened species.
Waterous said her group is looking at safety and mitigation measures, but cautions much of that work comes later in the planning and engineering phases.
"The overriding intention here is to make it a lot better than it is now," Waterous says. "To put in mitigations that will ensure that wildlife is in fact protected more so than it is now."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada Disability Benefit needs to safeguarded from clawbacks, MPs unanimously agree
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
Six Canadian children repatriated from detention in Syria, Global Affairs Canada says
The Global Affairs Department says six Canadian children have been repatriated from detention in northeastern Syria.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.