The two routes are interlined along 7 Avenue downtown, where traffic is restricted to transit and emergency vehicles only. This section of both lines are fare free.

Some other updates and corrections courtesy of Alex Reed and Alan Ross.

The C-Train predates low floor technology, so it uses high floor vehicles with high platform loading to accommodate accessibility. While new implementations in Toronto will be low floor for accessibility, the -Train does provide a good example of the ways that the ROW can be implemented:

• actual Rapid Transit implementation in outer areas with some stations spaced more than 2 km
• fenced-in surface ROW
• separated median in roadway
• short tunnel sections
• downtown transit mall

U2 LRV:

SD-160 LRV:

Fare collection:

Fares are purchased from vending machines on platforms. Adult cash fare is $2.75 - tickets are available at 10 for $24.00 - a day pass is available for $8.75 and the monthly pass is $85.25.

Random fare inspections take place on the LRT. The fine for being caught without a valid fare is $150.

Older style ticket vending machine

Newer style ticket vending machine

Both LRT lines use 7 Avenue where traffic is restricted to transit and emergency vehicles

Alternating direction stations exist on each block of 7 Avenue. This makes each stop in each direction every two blocks

Calgary Transit has installed electric sings to tell people which trains is next. There is also a PA announcement once the new train arrives, telling everyone where the next train is destined

Dalhousie Station Mall

A bus dropping of passengers at Dalhousie

Southbound train at Dalhousie station

This line starts out in a median ROW of a limited access highway with island platform stations from Crowfoot to University.

Many business located near Dalhousie Station as it brought in a significant amount of customers from around the city. Dalhousie Station Mall was constructed following the arrival of Dalhousie Station.

South of University, the line enters a tunnel to leave the median of Crowchild Trail (Northwest Calgary's main artery road to the city centre). The line leaves the tunnel just before arriving at Banff Trail, a station with side platforms and a pedestrian grade crossing at its north end.

The line then runs on a ROW adjacent to the street before taking a sharp turn into a tunnel to pass under the roadway and emerge at Lions Park station, a side platform station with pedestrian grade crossings at both ends.

Dalhousie Station as seen from the Dalhousie Station Car Park. There is a pedestrian overpass which leads people to the Station itself

Dalhousie Station's bike park, has been designed to hold up to 40 bicycles

The LRT tracks beyond Dalhousie Station

Railway-type crossing at SAIT/A.C.A.D/Jubilee Station

The intersection next to Sunnyside Station. Note the crossing arms and the safety gates.

The Pedestrian crossing at Sunnyside Station

 
An U2 train arriving at Sunnyside

The same U2 departing

Southbound departing Sunnyside

The next station is Sunnyside, a station with side platforms with a separate grade-level crossing at the south end of the station. Sunnyside was the most controversial station in the network. It was built in a neighbourhood very similar to Toronto's Annex known as Kensington or Sunnyside-Hillcrest. While initially very controversial, today Kensington has become a major commercial and residential hub for the city. The station itself was credited for brining life into the community. Today it would be equally, if not more controversial, to remove the station.

Sunnyside Station

1987 the Year that the Northwest line opened. It was built to help shuttle tourists and athletes around the City for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games

Another U2 arriving at Sunnyside

Northbound train stopped at 6 Ave SW after turned off the 7 Avenue Transit Mall

SD-160 train departing Sunnyside

LRV on the 7 Avenue transit mall

Centre Street station - buses use the transit mall, though they do not serve the high-level LRV platforms

Level crossing located south of Sunnyside station just north of the bridge over the Bow River

South of Sunnyside, the line ascends up onto a bridge across the Bow River, and into the downtown section, which this route shares with route 202.

The 7 Avenue Transit Mall has staggered stations. This means that in each city block, there is a station that serves only one direction of travel, alternating each block. Travelling east, the stations are: 8 Street SW, 6 Street SW, 3 Street SW, Centre Street, and City Hall. The westbound stations are listed in the route 202 description below.

1st Street West Station

The LRT bridge over the Bow River - note the pedestrian/cyclist bridge below the LRT level

City Hall Station

Stations along the 7 Avenue Transit Mall have been or are being rebuilt to allow for future 4-car train operation. This rebuild will see the permanent closure of the 3 St SE station on May 3, 2010.

Victoria Park Stadium Station

East of City Hall station, this line curves off 7 Avenue to the south and enters a tunnel. Once out of the tunnel, the line now runs beside MacLeod Trail, to Victoria Park/Stampede station. This is the only stop with three platforms. Track A is southbound, Track B is northbound, and Track C is used after Calgary Flames hockey games and other events.

The line now continues down adjacent to MacLeod Trail, across the Elbow River, and to the south end of Stampede Park, and Erlton/Stampede station, an island platform station.

Erlton Stadium Station

South of here, the ROW now enters the Cemetery Hill Tunnel and emerges in the north end of Calgary's industrial belt, and arrives at 39 Avenue, a station with side platforms.

From here, the ROW joins the Canadian Pacific ROW (on the east side of the LRT ROW), past factories, refineries and warehouses to Chinook.

Chinook, Heritage, Southland, and Anderson are all island platform stations with raised mezzanines at the north end and grade pedestrian crossings at the south end.

Anderson Station looking north

South of Anderson, the line rejoins the side of MacLeod Trail, then arrives at Canyon Meadows. With a small raised mezzanines and no pedestrian grade crossing, this station is designed to serve the residential area.

South of here, the line bridges over Fish Creek Provincial Park before arriving at Fish Creek/Lacombe.

The station's island platform is adorned with an old-west railway station design.

Shawnessy Station platforms are staggered and are long enough to handle a 4-car train

Somerset/Bridlewood Station

South of Fish Creek/Lacombe, the ROW continues along the CP tracks and arrives at a staggered platform station, Shawnessy. The two platforms are connected with a pedestrian grade crossing, which links the south end of the southbound platform and the north end of the northbound platform. See photo to the left.

The next and final stop on the line is Somerset/Bridlewood. This island platform station has pedestrian grade crossings on both ends of the platform, with the switch over to the north of the station.

South of the station, the tracks cross Shawville Gate with short stub ends.

Abstract art at McKnight-Westwinds

Pedestrian crossing and entrance to McKnight-Westwinds

McKnight-Westwinds Station is situated at the intersection of Métis Trail and 64th Avenue. The station has an island platform. Unlike the other stations on the NE Line, McKnight-Westwinds is parallel to Métis Trial and is not in the median. The station has a 949 stall park and ride lot.

McKnight-Westwinds is part of a three part extension to the Northeast LRT. By 2011 the Northeast LRT will have two more stops, one in Martindale and another in Saddleridge/Saddletowne (the community itself is called Saddleridge but the city cites the new station as Saddletowne).

The LRT travels parallel to the Métis Trail where it run past the Oliver-Bowen Maintenance Facility. Once completed the facility will be able to hold an additional 65 LRVs. One and half minutes after it leaves reaches the McKnight Blvd and Métis Trail, where Métis Trail becomes 36th Street. Here, the LRT moves to median of 36th Street and travels for another minute and a half until it reaches Whitehorn Station.

 
McKnight-Westwinds

 
Memorial Drive at Zoo Station

The line continues in the median of 36 Street NW with island platform stations at Whitehorn, Rundle, and Marlborough. Whitehorn station has a raised mezzanines to the south end of the station. Rundle and Marlborough stations are of a similar design.

South of Marlborough, the ROW leaves the 36th Street median through a tunnel, emerging onto another median on Memorial Drive. The next stations on Memorial Drive include Franklin and Barlow/Max Bell. Both of these have island platforms, and Barlow/Max Bell has an underground mezzanine.

After Barlow/Max Bell, the line dips into the Bow River Valley and over Deerfoot Trail (an expressway), and curves to a stop at Zoo. As its name implies, this island platform, underground mezzanine station serves the Calgary Zoo. The next stop is Bridgeland/Memorial, serving the residential neighbourhood nearby.

A U2 westbound and a McKnight-Westwinds eastbound meet up at 3 Street

West of Bridgeland/Memorial, the line now flies over a busy intersection between Memorial Drive and Edmonton Trail, crosses the Bow River, and enters the Downtown area. The first station in the downtown core is 3 Street SE, a westbound only station.

Merging with route 201 coming out of the tunnel, the line now runs down the 7 Avenue Transit Mall. The Transit Mall has staggered stations. This means that in each city block, there is a station that serves only one direction of travel, alternating each block. The eastbound stations are listed in the route 201 description above. Travelling west, the stations serving this line are: Olympic Plaza, 1 Street SW, 4 Street SW, and 7 Street SW.

Olympic Plaza Station originally opened as 1st Street SE. When Calgary was awarded the games, the decision was made to build an Olympic Plaza in front of City Hall for the medals presentation and the station was renamed to reflect this. This is also the only station in the network which carries a bilingual name, in French it is known as Place Olympique.

This line continues west about a half a block beyond where route 201 turns off to the northwest to its terminal stop, 10 Street SW, an island platform station.

A Sommerset/Bridlewood bound train passing by Olympic Plaza Station. Note that this station only serves trains in the other direction. This LRT is between Centre Street Station (one block west) and City Hall Station (one block east)

If this button is pushed, the driver will exit his cab at the next stop and make sure everything is alright in the car where it was pushed.

On September 1, 2001 Calgary Transit entered a partnership with ENMAX and Vision Quest Windelectric Inc. to develop a program to use wind-generated electricity to power the C-Train.

There are now 12 windmills in southern Alberta that generate the equivalent amount of power for the grid that the C-Train operations use.

New SD-160 LRV painted in the new livery

Calgarians have affectionately nicknamed the new livery "Coca Cola Trains"

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This page last updated December 23, 2010