Calgary seeks consulting engineering expertise for airport rail connection study
July 11, 2023
By CCE
Work is expected to begin this October.
Logo courtesy City of Calgary.
The City of Calgary is recruiting an engineering consultant to assist with a new technical study to identify the optimal rail connection and alignment between its downtown area and Calgary International Airport.
The study will be undertaken in partnership with Alberta’s provincial government, which allocated $3 million in its 2023 budget to lead the process. The project will also involve engagement with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and private rail developers with plans to connect downtown with the airport.
The Calgary Airport Rail Connection Study will review ridership and develop and evaluate different alignment scenarios before identifying the optimal connection.
“It’s important for us to take a comprehensive look at all factors in this technically and physically constrained corridor to establish a functional alignment that will best serve Calgarians, visitors and employees of the airport and surrounding lands,” says Michael Thompson, Calgary’s general manager (GM) of infrastructure services. “The study will consider existing rail plans, past transit studies and other opportunities to help guide future planning.”
A request for proposals (RFP) is currently in market for the engineering consultant. Once a consultant has been selected through a competitive process, work is expected to begin this October and be completed by August 2024.
