FAQs & Resources

Phase 1 of the Green Line LRT, from Shepard in the southeast to the Downtown has been approved with $6.248 billion in funding commitments from the City of Calgary, Province of Alberta, and Government of Canada.

The City of Calgary is responsible for delivering the project, with construction of the SE Segment now underway. Contracts are already being awarded to local construction companies, and more than $3 billion in additional tenders will be released to the market in 2025 and 2026.

No, Calgary City Council directed Administration to undertake a Functional Plan for the Downtown Segment, which is currently at 5% design completion. 

The Functional Plan will include advancing design, validating the cost estimate from the Province, delivering the impact analysis studies including impact to existing infrastructure, businesses, flood mitigation, noise and vibration, property and traffic modeling that are required before construction can begin and ensuring the project is broadly supported by Calgarians.

Phase 1 of the Green Line LRT (from Shepard to 7 Avenue S.W.) has $6.248 billion in funding from The City of Calgary, Government of Alberta and Government of Canada.

Funding commitments by level of government:

• Canada: $1.641 billion
• Alberta: $1.702 billion
• Calgary: $2.905 billion

Approximately $1.4 billion has spent over the past decade to advance the city’s most critical infrastructure project, which includes land acquisition, early works construction projects such as utility relocations, landfill remediations and initial bridge structures, the procurement of 28 new low floor light rail vehicles and the planning, due diligence and design that got the project ready to move into main construction.

Phase 1 of the Green Line LRT will bring considerable benefits to Calgarians, including:

• Shifting 4.8 million trips from vehicles to transit each year
• Easing congestion on roads and existing transit service
• Creating 20,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction
• Spurring residential and commercial development, including opportunities for up to114,000 new housing units within 800m of stations
• Reducing greenhouse gases by 37,000 tonnes annually

Opening day is expected to be in 2031.

Work on the Green Line LRT – SE Project will be awarded in multiple contracts, creating significant opportunities for local contractors and thousands of construction jobs for Calgarians. The SE Project contracting strategy for all works through to 2031 has been developed, with approximately $3 billion in construction contracts being put into the market in 2025 and 2026. For details on the contracting strategy and procurement timelines, visit our Supply and Contract Opportunities page.

The Green Line is the largest infrastructure investment in Calgary’s history. It is a megaproject and requires the construction of stations, tracks, multiple bridges and elevated guideways, a maintenance and storage facility for Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs), Park and Ride facilities and much more.

Comparing the scale and timeline to other LRT projects in Calgary:

• The first leg of Calgary’s LRT system spanned 12.5 kilometres from Anderson Station in the south to downtown with 16 stations and took four years to construct.
• The West LRT expansion from downtown to 69 Street Station spanned 8.2 kilometres of track, with six stations and took three years to construct.

The Urbos 100 low-floor LRVs will operate exclusively on Green Line. Due to the low-floor design, the station platforms on the Red and Blue Lines are too high. There are also differences with the existing electrical network that prevents the Green Line LRVs from running on the Red and Blue lines.

It was determined in 2019 that the best option was to build an LRT bridge over the Bow River, connecting Eau Claire station to Crescent Heights. City Council approved this plan in 2020. However, this work is outside the scope of Phase 1 construction.

More information about the preliminary planning and design of the Bow River Bridge is here.

Phase 1 will not connect to YYC Calgary International Airport but there are plans for an Airport Transit Connector linking both the Green Line and Blue Line to the airport.  Visit our future extensions page for more information.

In July 2023, the City of Calgary announced a study to identify the optimal rail connection and alignment between downtown Calgary and the airport. The study will include a ridership review, and development and evaluation of different alignment scenarios. For more information, visit the Airport Transit Study page.

Yes. It is a requirement for Provincial funding to ensure that the Event Centre Station is integrated into their plans for the future Grand Central Station. 

The phased approach to deliver the entire 46-kilometre vision for Green Line provides the backbone for future LRT expansions to the south and north, regional transportation links and opportunities identified in the Alberta Passenger Rail Master Plan. Green Line is an essential element of several Council-approved long-term strategies - The City’s RouteAhead 30-year Strategic Plan for Transit in Calgary, Municipal Development Plan and Calgary Transportation Plan, Greater Downtown Plan, Housing Strategy and 2020 Sustainability Direction and Council Priorities.