Mayor Nenshi drives C-Train as Calgary Transit launches 4-car service
CBC News | Posted: November 13, 2015 4:10 PM | Last Updated: November 13, 2015
Mayor Nenshi has taken the controls of a four-car C-Train to mark the launch of the longer C-Train service in Calgary.
"Four-car train service will be a dramatic improvement to our public transit service," Nenshi said in a release following a successful three-week testing period.
"We are literally adding 33 per cent capacity when it's needed most," he said.
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The fourth car creates room for 200 additional passengers per trip, giving the longer train a total capacity of 800 people.
Two four-car trains will now operate regularly on the 201 Red Line between Tuscany and Somerset – two weeks before the planned rollout in December, the city said in a release.
Plans to expand four-car train service will occur next year as new trains begin arriving in Calgary, the city said.
Calgary is getting 63 new transit cars worth roughly $200 million, which Nenshi says will help alleviate congestion — especially on the north-south line.
Of those, 28 will be replacing the older U2-model cars, which have started breaking down after 34 years of service.
The new S200 light rail vehicles (LRV) are manufactured by Siemen's Canada and cost $3.2 million each.
Calgary Transit is also expecting its first new "Mask" C-Train car in January.
In 2013, Calgarians were asked to vote for their preferred car design. They chose the Mask, said to be inspired by a goalie's face shield.