West LRT | 7 Stations | 8.0 KM | In Service

[mersar]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Is there any long term plan to consolidate to one or two types?

Within a decade we'll probably be back to 3 types (the U2's will all be retired). But I doubt we'll see it down to a single type, as by the time the first SD160's are due for retirement I doubt that they or the model chosen to replace the U2's will still be in production (this is probably ~15-20 years down the road)

[Calgarian]

Can't wait to see trains on the new elevated guideway in person, will make for more of a big city feel.

[O-tacular]

Is it just me, or judging by the photos Frinkprof posted doesn't it look like there are only escalators from the mid level onward? If so that's really lame. Why not have escalators from ground level?

[mersar]

Originally Posted by O-tacular

Is it just me, or judging by the photos Frinkprof posted doesn't it look like there are only escalators from the mid level onward? If so that's really lame. Why not have escalators from ground level?

If I am correct the escalators from the ground to the mid-level are on the south side of the building, the escalators from the mid-level to platform are on the both sides. That photo showing the escalator is on the north side of the station building I think.

[5seconds]

West LRT is $35 million over budget before art or final land costs

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/05/16/calgary-west-lrt-budget-transit-project.html

I was going to say that for a project of over a billion dollars, that's not terrible. But then that number is presumably after the contingency that's built into the budget, and $35 million could do an awful lot for this city too.

[MichaelS]

What was the budget for West LRT at the very start? I seem to remember it being announced in 2010 for around $800 million. Am I remembering wrong?

[mersar]

Originally Posted by MichaelS

What was the budget for West LRT at the very start? I seem to remember it being announced in 2010 for around $800 million. Am I remembering wrong?

Around that. But that was a base budget that didn't include a lot of stuff that was peripheral but necessary to the project.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by mersar

Around that. But that was a base budget that didn't include a lot of stuff that was peripheral but necessary to the project.

The construction tender minus the new school, the Sarcee interchange, and the 45th St overpass was around that iirc.

It has been almost 5 years since council first approved property purchases. My word long time.

[MichaelS]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

The construction tender minus the new school, the Sarcee interchange, and the 45th St overpass was around that iirc.

It has been almost 5 years since council first approved property purchases. My word long time.

Wow, expensive school, interchange and overpass. Does that really add up to $600 million? Almost double what the train was initially estimated at?

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by MichaelS

Wow, expensive school, interchange and overpass. Does that really add up to $600 million? Almost double what the train was initially estimated at?

That is just the construction and maybe rolling stock, been years since I read any of the initial stuff council approved. The city had also used the entire cost contingency on the fixed cost construction contract for extra niceties.

Land came to around $200 million (breaking leases makes for expensive expropriation from both the lessee and the lessor, CPR named its price, taking out two gas stations and the churchs, oy gevalt!). Not sure if they included the school cost for the land cost. I think the final land cost might be triple or quadruple estimates.

Also remember the province threw in a special extra non-municipal grant of $30 million for the school so not all the extra expense was solely CoC supported.

[Surrealplaces]

11th street platform in #YYC by Craig R Taylor, on Flickr

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by Calgarian

Can't wait to see trains on the new elevated guideway in person, will make for more of a big city feel.

What is even better is riding them hehe

[Wooster]

Originally Posted by 5seconds

I was going to say that for a project of over a billion dollars, that's not terrible. But then that number is presumably after the contingency that's built into the budget, and $35 million could do an awful lot for this city too.

The Council at the time foolishly ate into the contingency to fund the trench at 45th. It left the project with a laughably low contingency.

[Aegis]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

That is just the construction and maybe rolling stock, been years since I read any of the initial stuff council approved. The city had also used the entire cost contingency on the fixed cost construction contract for extra niceties.

Land came to around $200 million (breaking leases makes for expensive expropriation from both the lessee and the lessor, CPR named its price, taking out two gas stations and the churchs, oy gevalt!). Not sure if they included the school cost for the land cost. I think the final land cost might be triple or quadruple estimates.

Also remember the province threw in a special extra non-municipal grant of $30 million for the school so not all the extra expense was solely CoC supported.

Was it entirely necessary to build the office building at the Westbrook site rather than just a station? Seems like some cost savings could have been found there.

[Doug]

This project is going to look very bad from a capital cost/rider perspective. The underground station at Westbrook was completely unnecessary as was the trench on 17th. Given how much the CP land cost, it might have been less expensive to have tunnelled under 10th for that section. What are the ridership projections? I am assuming the City owns the land under the elevated section. Will that be developed into a park?

[mersar]

Originally Posted by Aegis

Was it entirely necessary to build the office building at the Westbrook site rather than just a station? Seems like some cost savings could have been found there.

They could have saved some, but a lot of whats supposed to go in there would have been spent otherwise in the next few years anyways (new library for the area, new transit office space). That and the building will be capable of partly paying for itself over time since there is leasable space in it.

Originally Posted by Doug

This project is going to look very bad from a capital cost/rider perspective. The underground station at Westbrook was completely unnecessary as was the trench on 17th. Given how much the CP land cost, it might have been less expensive to have tunnelled under 10th for that section. What are the ridership projections? I am assuming the City owns the land under the elevated section. Will that be developed into a park?

It won't look too bad but it will be higher then most other expansions (save the NC and SE LRT eventually). Ridership projections are 37,000-44,000/day initially. The land under the guideway is actually an alley for the most part.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by Aegis

Was it entirely necessary to build the office building at the Westbrook site rather than just a station? Seems like some cost savings could have been found there.

They were going to build a similar transit admin building at one point at Heritage, but it was shifted to under this project, maybe so it was easier to get approval.

[mersar]

Westbrook TOD by Jason R. Reid, on Flickr

[Innersoul1]

I see that at Shaganappi Station the level pedestrian crossing uses crossing arms rather than gates like most stations (Banff Trail). Now people are going to really have to try if they don't want to get run over!

[CTrainDude]

Originally Posted by Innersoul1

I see that at Shaganappi Station the level pedestrian crossing uses crossing arms rather than gates like most stations (Banff Trail). Now people are going to really have to try if they don't want to get run over!

None of the newer stations have those swinging gates - precisely for the reason you just mentioned. They're pretty much useless.