Calgary to Banff high-speed rail service proposed
A Vancouver business man is hoping to use crowdfunding to get his idea for high-speed rail service between Calgary and Banff on track.
Greg Dansereau recently founded HSBanff, a private not-for-profit group aimed at building a rail line that would take travellers from Calgary’s airport to the mountain town in as little as 26 minutes on a train going up to 400 kilometres per hour.
“But if the train stops in Canmore or anywhere else along the route, it could take longer than that. So worst case we’ve put out is 45 minutes,” said Dansereau, who grew up in Alberta.
The group’s first goal is to crowdsource the $300,000 needed for the initial feasibility and environmental studies.
“That’s only a portion of it. It’s a multibillion-dollar project. So at some point we would need a large amount of capital investment.”
Details of the route would depend on the feasibility study, but Dansereau said it’s envisioned travelling down the middle of the highway, with some sections elevated.
“We don’t want to expand the footprint of the highway at all,” he said. “So no more impact to the park.”
Early reaction to the idea has been mixed, Dansereau said.
“But for the most part, very, very positive support so far,” he said.
HSBanff has had some preliminary discussions with government officials, he said. “I think there’s mixed feelings with the government. Part of the issue there again is if a private company comes in, builds a rail that’s not successful, are they then responsible for taking it over and maintaining it. And what’s the cost of that. So, there’s some apprehension there,” he said.
