Red Line resumes service in Calgary Monday after nine-day closure for platform upgrade
Posted Dec 3, 2023 11:39 am.
Last Updated Dec 4, 2023 11:21 am.
Commuters should see a smoother commute Monday, as it’s back to business for the Red Line after a nine-day closure.
The new Victoria Park-Stampede Station opened to riders as of 4 a.m., and a grand unveiling was held later this morning.
The transit line was fully closed between Chinook Station and City Hall Station to complete important work in the rebuild project of Victoria Park and Stampede stations — the switch from the temporary track and platform to the new permanent track and platform.
“The switch was a significant undertaking, both in construction scope and in our operational response,” said Doug Morgan, the city’s general manager of operational services. “We implemented our city’s largest-ever replacement shuttle service to maintain transit service through the switch.
“We are grateful to teams at transit, mobility and across The City of Calgary for their dedication in keeping people moving through these nine days,” he continued. “And we sincerely thank Calgarians for their patience and understanding on transit and on the roads during this time.”
The city says 100 crew members worked 24-hours-a-day to tie the new tracks to the rest of the line, string overhead power lines to connect the station to the network, install new track signals at pedestrian crossings, build pedestrian access to the new station, and start demolition of the temporary platforms, according to the city.
Read more: Calgary commuters should ‘plan ahead’ for Red Line, Macleod Trail closures: City
However, there is more work to be completed on the new station before it’s substantially completed together with the opening of the BMO Centre expansion for Stampede 2024.
Over the coming months, the city says crews will complete the pedestrian and vehicle track crossings at 14 Avenue and 17 Avenue, build planters and benches, construct sidewalks, plant trees, finish installing canopy cladding, install permanent handrails, guardrails, lighting, digital screens and signage, install shelters on the inbound platforms, and build permanent pedestrian access to the outbound platform.
The city described this as the largest-ever replacement shuttle operation Calgary had ever seen, and a lot was done to make sure things went smoothly.
A massive deployment of shuttle buses — every available one in the garage — according to the city, were used to meet the demand.
Aside from occasional delays, the shuttles were running every five minutes between stations.
