Green Line LRT extension study proposed, north Calgary councillors seek bus service improvements

As construction work dots the future route for the first phase of the Green Line LRT project in southeast Calgary, project officials hope to secure more funding to study extending the line further north and south.

In an update to the city’s executive committee Tuesday, city administration noted it would be requesting an additional $16.6 million in the upcoming four-year budget cycle to advance planning and design on future extensions to the project.

Roughly $4.1 million would be dedicated to study a southeast extension of the future line from the Shepard to Seton areas, while the bulk of the funding, $12.4 million, is proposed to examine extending the line further north from Eau Claire to 160 Avenue N.

Project officials said the difference in funding is due to a broader scope of work required for the northern leg, which is expected to take two years.

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“In the north there was a functional plan done up to 16 Avenue in 2021 but no further work has been done on that,” Green Line director Wendy Tynan told reporters. “There’s much more work to progress: utilities, land, understanding technical considerations.”

Tynan estimated the study on the southeast extension would take one year to complete.

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According to city administration, the studies will help improve project readiness for both extensions by updating technical information and assumptions as well as strengthening further cost certainty.

High-level estimates currently peg the cost for the south extension at $3 billion from Shepard to Seton and $4 billion to build the Green Line from Eau Claire to 40 Avenue N, according to city administration.

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said having those figures will help the city advocate for funding from both the provincial and federal governments; conversations he said he hopes to start having within the course of the next year.

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“This is absolutely essential, not just for moving Calgarians, but also for the long-term financial viability of the Green Line,” Farkas said. “We need more riders on the system so it can be safe and so we can achieve some of the cost recovery requirements.”

Construction on the Green Line is currently underway from Shepard in the city’s northeast to 10 Avenue in the Beltline at a cost of $6.2 billion. The line is expected to be operational by 2031.

Funding for the studies will be decided by city council during budget deliberations later this month.

However, two city councillors representing Calgary’s northern communities aren’t convinced the Green Line will cross the Bow River anytime soon, and instead are seeking improved rapid-bus service in the area.

“I can’t wait 20 years for the potential of a Green Line to reach Ward 3,” said Coun. Andrew Yule, who represents that area. “What we need now is service because we’ve been put off and put off with these (bus-rapid transit) upgrades.”

In a separate report to committee Tuesday, city administration said fully building out the MAX Green BRT line along Centre Street from downtown to Keystone Hills would cost at least $511 million.

City administration said that would cover dedicated curbside bus lanes along the length of Centre Street and would come with the shortest delivery timeline.

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More expensive options that would mean a smoother transition from a bus to the LRT up Centre Street in the future have already been explored, Yule argued, with little progress to date.

Some upgrades have already been completed along the MAX Green BRT with heated bus shelters and roadway improvements after it was converted into a rapid-bus route in 2025.

City councillors in the area argued for increased capacity for transit users in the area as the route is one of the busiest in the city with roughly 30,000 daily riders.

“We need to be able to make these improvements to be able to get dedicated lanes where they’re appropriate, signalized intersections in order to be able to speed up the bus, in order to be able to add more buses to Centre Street,” Ward 4 Coun. DJ Kelly said.

Yule’s motion to explore the $511 million option was endorsed by committee Tuesday, but still requires a final decision by city council.

If city council approves exploring the idea, administration would study the impacts and report back by mid-2027.

“My focus is service and it’s not about wasting years and years on studies,” Yule told reporters. “It’s about getting service to Calgarians that desperately need it.”