A state-of-the-art bullet train between Calgary and Edmonton would cost more than $5 billion, but deliver a major economic boost for Alberta, high-speed rail proponents told MLAs on Tuesday.

However, representatives of the province’s two largest cities said that while the province needs to prepare for a potential high-speed link, urban light rail transit needs be the top infrastructure priority for the government.

As legislature committee hearings on high-speed rail resumed Tuesday, the University of Calgary-based Van Horne Institute produced a new estimate on the price tag for a high-speed rail link.

On the low end, the project would cost $2.6 billion for a 200-kilometre-per-hour line built on the existing Canadian Pacific Railway right-of-way.

However, a greenfield project that would run at 320 km per hour — making the journey in about 90 minutes — would cost $5.2 billion, the institute predicted.

Updating a study from a decade ago, the U of C institute forecasts annual operating costs for the line to be between $93 million and $129 million, although there could be savings both on capital and operating expenditures.

Bob Brawn, a member of Van Horne’s board, said the best option for Alberta would be a high-speed line built in a new corridor that could also be used for water and sewer transportation, oil pipelines, telecommunication lines and other ties between the province’s two largest cities.

“A high-speed rail system linking Calgary and Edmonton would serve as a practical backbone to create a thriving economic region,” he said.

“Both cities can be considered as one by shrinking the time between them.”

The committee, which will deliver a report on high-speed rail this spring, heard last week from Canadian National Railway and CPR about the difficulties using their existing right-of-ways for high-speed rail — mainly the number of rail crossings and accessibility of the track.

Alexander Metcalf, president of the consulting firm Transportation Economics and Management Service Inc., which did a study for the government on high-speed rail in 2006, also backed a line in a newly assembled corridor.

Metcalf said there will be growing demand for transportation between Edmonton and Calgary, projecting a tripling of inter-city trips by 2050, with massive highway expansion needed if high-speed rail is not constructed.

Mac Logan, director of transportation for the City of Calgary, said the city recognizes the need to plan for a potential high-speed rail link because of the growing demand and likely economic benefit.

Calgary has identified the likelihood of a high-speed rail corridor in its transportation master plan as well as potential locations for train terminals, he said.

“At this time, we can absolutely move forward with confirming the routes and confirming the station locations,” Logan said. “We have an opportunity to protect that land and plan around it.”

However, it is necessary for any future bullet train to be integrated into complete LRT systems, as well as regional rail services linking communities such as Airdrie and Strathmore to Calgary.