CALGARY—Calgarians heading out to Banff might have another way of getting there in the coming years — by train or by bus.

To find out if those options are even doable, four municipalities have spent $350,000 on a feasibility study.

That group of four — Cochrane, Canmore, Banff, and Calgary, plus Improvement District 9 — is considering a rail service between Calgary and the popular tourist spot. They’re also looking at a coach bus option.

Both transport choices are part of a feasibility study started by the Town of Banff, and joined by the other municipalities, in an effort to get people out of their cars and using mass transit to get to the mountains, Banff communications director Jason Darrah said.

The results of the study, which wraps up this week, will be released later this month, Darrah said.

The effort, he said, is part of the Banff Transportation Master Plan, which aims to unclog roadways leading to the park.

Improvement District 9 is the equivalent of a county or a municipal region. It covers a large north-south swath of Banff National Park, extending well past Lake Louise and bordering up against British Columbia.

The feasibility study looks at a rail corridor option and a coach bus option, along with the potential for adding stops in Cochrane and Canmore.

To commission the study, the municipalities applied for and received a $350,000 grant from the Alberta Community Partnership, which is under the province’s municipal affairs ministry.

The funds were used to retain the services of CPCS Transcom, a Canadian-based consulting firm that specializes in transportation and has roots in the country’s rail industry.

However, details of a finalized transportation corridor plan — like costs, financial backers, number of bus or train stops, and environmental impacts, among other things — are a long way into the future, Darrah said.

But he said he’s hopeful the study will at least reveal a plan to build on.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Read more about: