Prairie Link High Speed Rail Project Referred to Federal Major Projects Office

Calgary, AB, Sept. 29, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Prairie Link High Speed Rail Partners has welcomed the referral of its Calgary-Red Deer-Edmonton high-speed rail project to the federal Major Projects Office. The project, which has been under development since 2021, aims to connect downtown Calgary and downtown Edmonton via Red Deer, with seven stations along the route.

The roughly 295-kilometre corridor will traverse the busiest part of Alberta, which is home to about 80 percent of the province’s population. The project is being advanced with an investment framework designed to attract private capital and minimize the need for provincial taxpayer funding. The proposed route will include stations in downtown Calgary, Calgary International Airport, Airdrie, Red Deer, Edmonton International Airport, south Edmonton, and downtown Edmonton. Trains traveling at more than 300 kilometres per hour will make the downtown-to-downtown trip in about 90 minutes, compared to the current three-hour or more drive.

The project is part of Alberta’s Passenger Rail Master Plan and is being developed by a partnership between CGC Infrastructure Holdings Ltd., an infrastructure holding company of Chiniki First Nation, EllisDon, and AECOM. The partners bring together nation-leading expertise in capital, design, engineering, construction management, development, and operations. CGC Infrastructure supports economic reconciliation through ownership, partnership, and participation. EllisDon is an employee-owned global construction services and technology company, while AECOM is a global infrastructure leader recognized by ReNew Canada in 2026 for its participation in 38 of the country’s Top 100 infrastructure projects.

Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen have shown real leadership in moving high-speed rail forward. The federal government’s involvement, alongside the provincial government, is expected to give the project the momentum it needs.

The Calgary-Red Deer-Edmonton corridor is home to about 80 percent of Alberta’s population, which is expected to double over the next six decades. Advancing Prairie Link represents significant direct and indirect investment in the province. High-speed rail would ease pressure on the QEII, Alberta’s busiest highway, which carries 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles daily on its busiest stretch. Faster travel would expand access to jobs and talent across the corridor, and seven station districts would create room for new homes near fast transit. Electric trains would offer a cleaner way to travel between the two cities.

This project is seen as a generational investment that reflects a long-term vision for Albertans, with the potential to unlock economic opportunities for the Indigenous peoples in Alberta.