CALGARY — Canadian conservation groups are expressing concerns over a proposed Calgary-Banff rail service, saying they’re concerned the project is ignoring wildlife and environmental issues.
Global News reports that the local chapter of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is concerned there isn’t enough transparency in the planning process, while the Yellowstone To Yukon Conservation Initiative is worried about the impact on wildlife.
“It seems very premature to be talking about this project as if it’s a done deal when there’s a lot of questions and blanks,” Sarah Elmeligi of the parks and wilderness group told the broadcaster. “Our hope is that we can actually become a formal part of these consultations.”
The $1.5 billion project — proposed by Liricon Capital Ltd., which owns a Banff ski resort and has a long-term lease on the Banff train station — seeks to offer service between Calgary and Banff every two hours, in addition to service every 15 minutes between downtown Calgary and the city’s airport [see “Calgary-Banff rail proposal sees price rise …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 9, 2021].
Among its goals is to address heavy traffic on the Trans-Canada Highway, which saw about 23,000 vehicles at Banff National Park daily as of 2017 [see “Canada Infrastructure bank could provide major funding …,” News Wire, July 15, 2021]. And Liricon has said the trains could be hydrogen-powered, further reducing emissions.
But the project would involve double-tracking an existing Canadian Pacific line, and Hilary Youung of the Yellowstone to Yukon group says adding an additional rail line “will further fracture wildlife populations and reduce available habitat. Adding a high-frequency, high-speed rail line within an internationally significant wildlife corridor will have far-reaching implications for multiple species, including grizzly bears.”
Liricon and its co-developers “welcome the opportunity to continue to receive input from the conservationist community,” among others, during the ongoing development of the project, said Jan Waterous, Liricon’s managing director.
It’s the environmental groups all looking for their “pound of flesh” out of this
It doesn’t involve building a new rail line, it only involves adding a second track to the already existing CP mainline…those people really should go back to school and educate themselves before speaking about something which they know nothing of.
I suppose expanded roads don’t cause wildlife problems???
BNSF is looking at animal bridges over ROW’s near Yellowstone. The problem with grizzly and black bears is that green laws are working and their populations are booming. That puts more of them in harms way. What is an acceptable loss? If the greens say “zero”, then there is a disconnect with reality.
CP has done a remarkable job working with Parks Canada on trying to prevent wildlife hits, fencing, animal underpasses, warning lights, grain spills and all having positive results in the Rockies. And now a move to try and eliminate road traffic which fits the climate change narrative is a bad thing.?
So I must agree the “environmentalists” may have not thoroughly thought out their save the world thoughts on this one.
I wonder if there is any physical expansion that won’t be opposed by the environmentalists. However, I have never heard them oppose any government expansion by any government level–federal state, or local.
I’m all for environmentalism but sometimes they just step all over themselves for for press without thinking all they way through. Would they rather have the roads expanded with more vehicles or get those vehicles off the roads?
Advice to the environmentalists, or we might say the so-called environmentalists. It’s better to work with the system than to get ink in the newspaper by opposing anything and everything. My French is beyond terrible so I can only write the word BANANA in half of Canada’s two languages.
Your French was pretty good on Friday.