The Green Line Light Rail Transit system will add 28 stations and 46 kilometres of track to Calgary’s existing LRT system. The line will run from 16th Avenue north to 126 Avenue SE, with an underground tunnel for the downtown portion of the system. The initial plans were for the Green Line to be constructed as a bus-only transitway, but was later converted to LRT as funding became available.
In June 2018, project engineers announced that technical challenges would prevent them from moving forward with plans for a four-kilometre tunnel underneath the Bow River. Then in September 2019, the transportation committee for the City of Calgary informed council that the project budget could expand by up to 10 per cent following a constructability review. In June 2020, Calgary City Council approved the final plans for LRT, which included a new alignment from 16th Avenue N. to Shepard, as well as changes to construction staging.
Green Line Stage 1 will now be built in three stages: Segment 1: Elbow River to Shepard; Segment 2A: 2 Avenue SW station to Elbow River; Segment 2B: 16 Avenue N to north of 2 Avenue SW station.
Procurement for the design-build-finance of Stage 1 is underway, with detailed design and construction to begin in 2021.
