Courtesy: abrailway.com

By Darren Rathwell

Passenger train proposed to stop in Medicine Hat

Jan 19, 2022 | 5:25 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It’s years away but an Alberta company is hoping to set up a passenger rail service in the province, with plans for a stop in Medicine Hat.

The new service would first link Edmonton and Calgary, and then connect with 23 other communities in Alberta.

Global Sourcing hopes to get the first phase of the rail project underway in a year’s time.

However, seven years could pass before Medicine Hat is added to the service, if it is at all.

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Company director Vern Raincock says he’s hoping to see passenger trains connecting Medicine Hat to Calgary and Lethbridge, but he needs various approvals first, including permission from CP Rail to build a rail line on their land.

“Most important thing we can do in the southern region is to begin dialogues,” Raincock said, adding, “So once the initial stages are up and running we may be able to turn things on very quickly. When I say very quickly I mean within a year (of the Calgary-Edmonton route set-up). But if we wait six to seven years until we have everything in place between Calgary and Edmonton that’s going to further delay the progress. Transport Canada and other entities, of course, have to be spoken to.”

Raincock says he has yet to talk to Medicine Hat city council about the project but plans to do so at an undetermined point.

He estimates the cost of a one-way ticket from Medicine Hat to Calgary to be around $60.