The Alberta government is officially developing the Passenger Rail Master Plan — a long-term roadmap that will determine whether and how the province will launch passenger rail service: from governance and financing models to priority corridors and construction phases. The focus is on the Calgary–Edmonton intercity route, with a potential hub in Red Deer and integration with the city's LRT and airports.
At the same time, private teams are promoting their own solutions, ranging from classic high-speed rail to ultra-fast “tube” concepts such as TransPod. But the key point is that the government has not yet chosen a technology. First, there will be a master plan and decisions on the model, partners, and investments.
What exactly is the Alberta government doing?
On Alberta.ca, the government clearly describes what the Master Plan should include:
- a comprehensive feasibility assessment (what to do, in what order, and under what conditions),
- financial and delivery models (public/private/hybrid),
- management and operations options,
- public and stakeholder engagement,
- a 15-year implementation plan with options and recommendations.
According to the official timeline, the Master Plan and 15-year delivery plan were to be ready by the summer of 2025 so that in the fall of 2025, the decisions could form the basis for discussions on Budget 2026 and subsequent budgets.
Public consultations did indeed take place: an open house in March 2025, online sessions, surveys, and other engagement formats.
What exactly is planned for the Calgary-Edmonton corridor (and “hubs” to LRT/airports)
The Alberta government's official vision includes several “layers” of the future network:
- an intercity/regional route between Calgary and Edmonton with a transit hub in Red Deer,
- commuter rail in each agglomeration with connections to Calgary International Airport and Edmonton International Airport,
- integration with urban LRT (Calgary/Edmonton),
- multimodal hubs (transfers between urban transport and regional routes).
To “ground” the airport issue, the city of Calgary conducted a separate Calgary Airport Rail Connection Study in conjunction with the province; the final technical report (Q1 2025) was to be submitted to the Alberta government to support the Master Plan.
Private initiatives: HSR vs. “hyperloop”
1) Prairie Link (high-speed rail)
Prairie Link (a partnership between EllisDon and AECOM) is one of the most well-known private tracks. In a press release (July 2021), EllisDon describes the initiative as an Unsolicited Proposal submitted to the provincial government, mentioning the estimated capital cost and MOU with Alberta Transportation as the basis for joint promotion.
This is important: such proposals are not the same as a state-approved project. They still have to go through selection, financing model, regulation, and approval.
2) TransPod (tube transport / “hyperloop-like” concept)
TransPod stated in its press release (June 2021) that the results of the feasibility study: “Calgary to Edmonton in 45 minutes” and other estimates (economic effects, emissions, etc.) are the company's position, not a government decision.
In October 2025, TransPod also announced a strategic partnership with Algoma Steel and Supreme Steel to promote the test track/components, and explicitly stated that progress was “paused pending” the provincial strategy/plan.
That is, even in their version of events, the key “bottleneck” is certification, regulatory decisions, and financing.