TLC for LRT Commences: Central LRT Station Temporarily Closes
Visit the City of Edmonton website highlighting the changes here.
On Tuesday, the City of Edmonton launched the TLC for LRT campaign, to let commuters know about a series of improvement projects taking place this spring-summer across the Capital LRT Line, which will ultimately result in delays to transit-goers. Victoria students who take the train will be heavily affected by these repair projects.
The first major closure will occur at Central Station from April 6 through 27. The platform will be closed, and trains will run through the station and not stop. This closure is to facilitate in the repair of the ceiling tiles and lighting on the platform. Victoria students are advised to use Churchill Station instead, via the City Centre Pedway, or take the Metro Line to/from school. As part of upgrades to the 66 Street tunnel between Belvedere and Coliseum Stations, from April 28 through August 30, trains on the Capital and Metro Lines will run every twelve minutes instead of the typical five during peak hours. On the Metro Line, trains will become five-cars long, contrast to the normal three, which will allow for more passengers per train to make up for lost frequency. In addition, while this will not affect Victoria students, the Metro Line will cease service to NAIT Station, and turn around at Kingsway Station. Those needing to go onto NAIT Station will need to disembark at Kingsway Station and take the number 8 or 9 bus. For students going to Victoria School, you may want to choose another bus route to/from school, especially if you live on the north side, as the LRT will be extremely busy.
““We understand the Capital Line frequency reduction and suspension of LRT service to NAIT will cause a temporary inconvenience for people travelling to and from north Edmonton.””
Work at several outdoor LRT stations will commence in May, which will replace the ageing yellow warning tiles. On weekdays after 7pm, and all day on weekends, all trains will run at a twenty minute frequency.
The last improvements will occur at Stadium Station, where a new road crossing the tracks, and at-grade pedestrian access to the station will be constructed, which will result in total LRT closures north of Churchill Station on the weekends of May 18-20, June 8-9 and July 6-7.
“This work is crucial to maintain the safety and functionality of the Capital Line. We thank everyone for their patience as we work on these projects to keep the system running smoothly and efficiently.” says Lloyd Meyer, Manager of LRT Operations. “We understand the Capital Line frequency reduction and suspension of LRT service to NAIT will cause a temporary inconvenience for people travelling to and from north Edmonton.”
In Summary…
Central LRT Station will be completely closed from April 6-27
All trains will run every 12 minutes instead of every 5 from April 28 - August 30
In May:
Trains will run every 20 minutes on weekdays after 7pm
Trains will run every 20 minutes on weekends all day
North of Churchill Station, the LRT will be shut down from:
May 18-20
June 8-9
July 6-7
Victoria students may want to change their route to and from school, as these repairs may result in delays and inconveniences. If you wish to find another route to and from school, you can download the Transit app, or use Google Maps, or Apple Maps. I do not recommend using the online ETS Trip Planner, as I personally have found it is poorly designed and hard to use.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
