Reflections from an LRT Open House

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending an open house at the D.L. MacDonald LRT Yard. I’d never been to one of these events before, so it was really interesting to see what ETS had on display. To get there, we took the train to Belvedere, then hopped on a free shuttle to the transit garage. There, we got to see where the Capital Line LRT cars were stored, some of the tools and mechanisms used for maintenance and painting, and learned about the LRT network’s history. Far and away my favourite part was sitting in the driver’s seat and honking the horn: who doesn’t love that? Outside, we got to see some extra machinery and even the locomotive used for Edmonton’s annual holiday train. At the end, ETS set up some booths with merch alongside some information and engagement regarding Edmonton’s new BRT routes.

It’s this element that I found quite interesting: engaging on bus expansion at an LRT open house. To me, it feels reflective of a city that’s moving away from the LRT as our main mode of rapid transit. Don’t get me wrong, the future BRT routes will be a huge success for the city in areas where the LRT isn’t politically feasible or on routes that would struggle to justify pricey construction costs. BRT, when done well, can maintain a high service frequency and fast speeds. All of this sounds great, and the proposed routes are exciting.

Yet, I can’t help but note the loss of momentum in Edmonton’s network expansion. In contrast to buses, trains can intermode seamlessly with bicycles and scooters at-grade, operate well (though not perfectly!) in snowy and icy conditions, incentivize development, and move people pretty quickly. Lots of progress has been made in expanding our network over the last few decades, and the future Valley Line West will be a keystone in this expansion. However, following that and the Capital Line’s southern spur, not much is on the docket for LRT expansion. Support for the Metro Line’s northwest expansion, proposed for decades, has stalled, with the area’s councillor now calling it a “pipe dream” (Williams, 2026). The concept of LRT on Whyte, once proposed by former mayor Iveson, failed to get off the ground (Stolte, 2019). Expanding the Capital Line past Clareview hasn’t received funding despite engineering work being done over 15 years ago (City of Edmonton, 2026). If there’s any question as to where our dollars will go for rapid transit, it’s clear that the bus is king.

Perhaps I’m biased and just want to get to the farmers market in St. Albert faster, or that I like the idea of reaching more places in one seat without needing to switch modes. That bias doesn’t, however, take the value away from an LRT network with the ability to connect people quickly. Furthermore, it doesn’t reduce the intrinsic value of having an expanding network: open houses like last month’s expose this. It’s a part of our city’s identity, and it brings people together both literally and figuratively. That’s why I was so glad to get (other than the stickers) one of those cardboard train models from the open house. It’s a nice reminder in my apartment of a network still loaded with potential, one that Edmonton should be proud of.

Written by GAPSS Media Committee Member Ryan Rabinovitch

References

Williams, E. (2026, April 30). Edmonton city councillor calls Metro Line LRT extension 'a pipe dream,' asks for new options. CBC News. 

Stolte, E. (2019, August 21). New city plan scratches Whyte Ave LRT, expands focus beyond downtown. Edmonton Journal. 

City of Edmonton. (2026, June 3). Capital Line – Northeast. City of Edmonton