Green Line (Calgary)


The Green Line, also known as Route 203, is a planned expansion of the light rail network in Calgary, Alberta, planned to run between Calgary's north-central and southeastern boundaries, connecting with the Red Line and the Blue Line in the city's downtown. The Green Line will be the largest public infrastructure project in Calgary's history and the first rail line in Calgary to operate low-floor trains. If completed, the full vision of the Green Line would comprise 29 stations spanning, bringing the total number of CTrain stations in Calgary from 53 to 82.
Like the Red Line and Blue Line, the Green Line will be constructed in phases. The first phase to be built stretches from 7 Avenue SW in the downtown to Shepard Station in the SE and will include two segments: the SE Segment and the Downtown Segment. The first segment to be constructed is the SE Segment, with 10 stations and 16 km of track from Event Centre/Grand Central Station to Shepard. The project is funded with three roughly equal contributions from the City of Calgary, the Government of Alberta, and the Government of Canada.
The Green Line groundbreaking event took place on June 26, 2025, marking the official start of construction for Phase 1 of the project. The ceremony was held at the site of the future Shepard LRT station and Green Line's Maintenance and Storage Facility. Officials from the three funding partners — The City of Calgary, province of Alberta and Government of Canada — were present to mark this significant milestone.
Major construction was planned to begin in early 2021 but was delayed to April 2022 after Alberta's United Conservative provincial government failed to contribute the province's pledged portion of the line's funding. The government rebuked the project as a "line to nowhere", asserting that the City of Calgary did not have "any credible plan" despite nearly four decades of research and planning. This came after months of speculation from city officials, politicians, and journalists that the provincial government and others associated with the United Conservative Party were attempting to stifle or cancel the Green Line.
Due to the provincial government's actions, the City of Calgary temporarily paused the project's procurement though planning, pre-construction and public engagement continued through 2021. Delays persisted until the project received final approval from Alberta's provincial government on July 7, 2021, hours after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met privately with Jason Kenney in Calgary. This meant the project had full approval from all three orders of government and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated "The money is there and the agreements are signed, so regardless of an election, the Green Line is going to go forward."
Construction of the Green Line officially began in April 2022 with PCL Construction selected as the construction management contractor for utility relocation work. The Green Line Board released the Request for Proposals to select a proponent to construct Phase 1 on September 26, 2022. In April 2023, Green Line entered the Development Phase of the project and began the comprehensive design of the alignment. On July 30, 2024, Calgary City Council approved a revised Green Line Phase 1 project scope, capital funding request, and delivery model, as recommended by the Green Line Board. The revised scope deferred the underground Centre Street Station for the future and shortened the line to end at Lynwood/Millican. It also moved the Maintenance and Storage Facility from Shepard to Highfield. Construction of the remainder of the Council-approved Phase 1 south to Shepard, and any future extensions north or south as outlined in the approved Stage 1 alignment plan, will proceed when additional funding is in place. This comes following increased cost pressures identified as the design was advanced. The revised Phase 1 scope from Eau Claire to Lynwood/Millican is anticipated to be completed in 2031.

Description

The Green Line LRT will be an urban and suburban light-rail line using low-floor trains, the CAF Urbos 100, integrated as part of Calgary's CTrain system. Like the rest of Calgary's rail transit network, the Green Line will be entirely powered by wind power to help in reducing pollution and make Calgary a cleaner-energy city. Operation of the line will be publicly funded by municipal taxation along with rider fares, and will be administered by Calgary Transit.
Generally, stations will be smaller and less elaborate than existing CTrain stations, due to the use of low-floor trains. The SE Segment, from Shepard to Event Centre/Grand Central Station, will run as a light metro similar to the existing Red Line and Blue Line, with dedicated tracks, bells and gates on at-grade crossings and free standing stations. The track between 26 Avenue SE station and Ramsay/Inglewood station will be elevated on a guideway similar to the existing Sunalta station like with many other major metro lines in the world.
Future phases of the full 46km Green Line vision include a bridge crossing the Bow River northwards, with two multi-use pathways, and connecting to Centre Street, north of the Centre Street Bridge. The train will then run northward in the centre two lanes of Centre Street in a dedicated right of way as an urban tramway, leaving two lanes for car traffic south of McKnight Boulevard and four lanes north of McKnight Boulevard. Stations south of 26 Avenue SE will be at-grade stations with a section of elevated track crossing the intersection of Barlow Trail SE and 114 Avenue SE.
The train will run without gates, bells or fences on most at-grade crossings along Centre Street. The train will then continue northward; tracks will eventually enter into the median of Harvest Hills Boulevard, and the line will eventually span north of Stoney Trail into the exurban community of Keystone.

Stations and route

The full vision of the line will run from north-central to southeast Calgary on of track and will feature 29 stations. This will bring the total number of CTrain stations in Calgary to 74. The planned Green Line corridor is currently served via three bus rapid transit routes: Route 300, Route 301 and Route 302. Like the Red Line and Blue Line, the Green Line will be built in stages as funding is made available. Phase 1 of construction will extend from 7 Avenue SW, through downtown Calgary, to Shepard.

Green Line (Phase 1)

Planned northern expansion

Planned southern expansion

Expansion timeline and funding

Though the alignment and general design of future expansions have been approved by the city council, the timeline and funding of future extensions has not yet been determined. Construction of Phase 1 builds the most complex and expensive segment of the line first - allowing incremental, relatively simple expansion of the line as funding becomes available. The full build-out of the line is estimated to require an additional CA$2–3 billion.
In 2019, several potential Stage 2 build-outs were evaluated for variable amounts of potential future funding. These were:
  • $250–400 million:
  • *South to McKenzie Towne
  • $400–700 million:
  • *North to 40 Avenue N or
  • *South to Auburn Bay/ Mahogany
  • $700 million–$1 billion:
  • *North to 64 Avenue N or
  • *South to Seton or
  • *North to 40 Avenue N and south to Auburn Bay/ Mahogany

    Additional infrastructure

When completed, Phase 1 of the Green Line will feature:
  • 28 low floor light rail trains, each long
  • of twin LRT track
  • 12 stations
  • 3 park and ride facilities with a total of 1,800 – 1,900 stalls
  • of elevated track between Ramsay/Inglewood to 26 Avenue SE stations
  • 1 light rail vehicle maintenance and storage facility, at Shepard Station
When the full line is complete, it will also feature 12 bridges, 10 park and ride facilities, a bridge connecting Eau Claire to Centre Street North, and 2 LRV maintenance and storage facilities.

Impact

When the full vision is completed, from 160 Ave N to Seton, it's expected that 140,000 people will ride the Green Line every day. Stage 1 of construction is expected to have a daily ridership of 65,000 people. The city plans on creating many high density transit oriented development along the line once it is complete similar to how some areas around the existing C-Train lines have been redeveloped. The line will reduce travel times for existing north-central BRT and southeast BRT riders by an average of 25 minutes.
The project is part of the cities plan to reduce emissions and meet Canada's Paris Agreement targets. Like the current C-Train Lines, the Green Line will be entirely powered by wind generated electricity and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 67,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, equivalent to 14,200 fewer vehicles on Calgary's roadways.
Deerfoot Trail is currently the primary transportation route from north-central to southeast Calgary. It is the busiest freeway in Alberta, and suffers from chronic congestion. Calgarians spent an average of 15.7 hours in peak hour congestion in 2016. The Green Line alignment runs roughly parallel to Deerfoot Trail and when finished will provide a competitive alternative to driving on the freeway resulting in an improved quality of life for Calgarians and reduced congestion on Deerfoot and its connecting roads.

Anticipated Ridership

History

Early history

Trams ran on the surface of Centre Street for 41 years, from 1909 to 1950. The Green Line will restore the historic alignment of Calgary's trams, running trains on the surface of Centre Street as well.
The Green Line was first envisioned in 1983, two years after Calgary's first LRT line opened. As early as 1986, the communities of McKenzie Towne, New Brighton and Copperfield had set aside land along 52 Street SE for the future line. In 1987, the city then conducted the Southeast Mass Transit Corridor Study and concluded that southeast Calgary would one day require a dedicated light rail line.