The city of Edmonton, Alberta, will open the Valley Line Southeast light-rail transit (LRT) for passenger service on Nov. 4. Service will begin at 5:15 a.m. at the Mill Woods stop and 102 St. stop downtown.
The city of Edmonton notes the Valley Line Southeast LRT has been independently certified by professional engineers, a safety auditor and an independent, professionally qualified, certifier. TransEd, the builder and operator of the Valley Line Southeast LRT, recently received a formal certificate from the independent certifier, indicating the infrastructure is complete and meets the requirements of the project agreement.
“I know many Edmontonians have been looking forward to opening day for the better part of two decades. Valley Line Southeast will offer an affordable and climate-friendly choice to move around our city for decades to come,” said Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi. “I’m looking forward to riding the new line and seeing this project cross the finish line.”
The Valley Line Southeast LRT is an integral part of achieving the City Plan and will provide more accessible, convenient and sustainable travel options for Edmontonians over the coming decades. The City Plan aims for a future where 50 percent of trips are made by transit and active transportation.
“Valley Line is the first completely new transit line to open in western Canada in a generation and will transform the way we move and experience our city,” said Edmonton City Manager Andre Corbould. “While the project delays have been challenging for everyone, all parties have kept their focus on one thing - providing a safe, reliable service for Edmontonians.”
Leading up to the opening of the line, TransEd will be conducting final operational exercises along the alignment to ensure their train operators and Control Center staff are prepared to handle standard operational challenges encountered by all transit agencies. Over the coming weeks, TransEd will also be completing final work, such as curbs, landscaping and maintenance—which does not affect the safe operation of the system.
“This has been a long journey, with challenges and detours but we’re confident in the system we’ve built. Our focus has always been and will continue to be, delivering a safe, reliable system to Edmontonians,” said TransEd Partners CEO Ronald Joncas. “We’re excited to welcome passengers onboard these brand new trains.”
The Valley Line Southeast LRT will have the same hours of operations as the Capital Line and Metro Line:
Transit fares and tickets are the same as the existing transit network. Standard monthly and yearly passes are accepted and reloadable Arc cards and single-use Arc tickets can be purchased at Arc fare vending machines at all stops and stations. Arc offers payment by cash, debit or credit card.
Three years behind the initial schedule. Better late than never I guess.
Here's hoping their fix for the cracked bridge piers holds up.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/southeast-valley-line-lrt-30-piers-1.6657156
And hopefully the signals work better than the NAIT line (Metro line), which reverted back to tried and true fixed block CTC after years of trouble attempting to install a more futuristic system.
https://globalnews.ca/news/6141416/edmonton-metro-line-lrt-new-singalling-system/
The new Valley line mostly runs at street level with crossings everywhere, they've already had some crashes with cars during test runs and I'm quite interested to see how Edmonton's accident count will compare with similar systems like Houston.
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Lucky Edmonton! Here in Toronto, the Eglinton LRT has no opening date. Possibly next year? The year after? They're not saying because they don't want to make a commitment. What a joke.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.