CALGARY -- The very first CTrain left the Anderson rail yard on May 25th 1981 and has been a staple of transportation in Calgary ever since.
“Today is the 40th birthday of the CTrain service in Calgary” said transit opertor Syd Banks over the intercom of a southbound CTrain Tuesday.
Senior rail controller Brian Langan operated the first CTrain to pick up the public 40 years ago and remembers the day fondly.
“I remember it as if it was yesterday,” said Langan. “I was sitting behind the call-on at Anderson and shaking, I was shaking so much."
Nerves aside, Langan was excited for such a big day in the city.
“I remember watching all the people and all the kids waiting for the first train," he said.
Laura Seymour has been riding the CTrain in Calgary for 23 years and said it is so important to her for the city to have such a fantastic transportation system.
“I can’t financially afford a car,” said Seymour. “I literally would not be able to travel without it. The CTrain has changed that.”
Over its 40 years of operation, Calgary transit has carried billions of passengers, put on enough kilometres to reach the sun and has been named one of the best light rail passenger services in North America.
“We’ve been there for Calgary as Calgary has grown,” said Russell Davies the acting director of Calgary Transit. “Calgary has paid us back by using us and making us one of the most successful systems in North America”
Moving forward Davies sees a lot of growth for the CTrain.
“Obviously the Green Line is one everybody talks about,” said Davies. “We also have plans for expanding through the south, expanding through the north.”
“When Calgary grows, we are still ready to grow with it.”
