Editing CTrain (section)

== History ==
The idea for rail transit in Calgary originated in a 1967 Calgary transportation study, which recommended a two-line [[rapid transit|metro]] system to enter service in 1978.  The original plans had called for two lines:
*a northwest-to-south line (on a similar routing to the present-day Northwest and South lines) between the original Banff Trail station (at [[Crowchild Trail]] and Northland Drive, between the present-day [[Brentwood station (Calgary)|Brentwood]] and [[Dalhousie station (Calgary)|Dalhousie]] stations) and Southwood station (at Southland Drive, roughly at the location of the present-day [[Southland station (Calgary)|Southland station]], with five stations in downtown underneath 7 Avenue; and
*the west line, which ran from downtown to the community of [[Glendale, Calgary|Glendale]], primarily along the 26 Avenue SW corridor.
A third line, a north central line running from downtown to [[Thorncliffe, Calgary|Thorncliffe]] mostly along [[Centre Street (Calgary)|Centre Street]] was also envisioned but was thought to be beyond the scope of the study.

However, a building boom in the 1970s had caused the heavy rail concept to fall out of favour due to the increased costs of construction, with light rail as its replacement. Light rail rapid transit (LRRT) was chosen over dedicated busways and the expansion of the Blue Arrow bus service (a service similar to [[bus rapid transit]] today) because light rail has lower long-term operating costs and addressed traffic congestion problems. The Blue Arrow service ended in 2000.

The present-day CTrain originated in a 1975 plan, calling for the construction of a single line, from the downtown core ([[8 Street Southwest station|8 Street station]]) to Anderson Road (the present-day [[Anderson station (Calgary)|Anderson station]]). The plan was approved by City Council in May 1977, with the construction of what would become the C-Train's "South Line" beginning one month later. The South Line opened on May 25, 1981.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201021190616/http://www.calgarytransit.com/about-us/corporate-information/history History] Calgary Transit</ref> [[Oliver Bowen]], a descendant of original black settlers to [[Amber Valley, Alberta]] [[Obadiah Bowen]] and [[Willis Reese Bowen]], was the manager of the department that designed and built the original CTrain system.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/oliver-bowen-calgary-ctrain-black-history-month-1.6356918 |title=Black History Month: The legacy of Oliver Bowen, architect of Calgary's CTrain system |date=2022-02-20 |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=[[CBC News]] |last=Kost |first=Hannah}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.afrosinthacity.com/home/2021/12/17/ode-to-the-c-train-a-black-invention | title=Ode to the C-Train, a Black Invention | date=December 17, 2021 }}</ref> In 2009, the City of Calgary named its largest maintenance facility after Bowen to honour his work.<ref>{{cite web|title=Route Ahead: A Strategic Plan for Transit in Calgary (2013)|url=https://www.calgarytransit.com/sites/default/files/content/PDF/2013-0118strategyaheadweb2.pdf|website=Calgary Transit|publisher=City of Calgary|accessdate=5 Feb 2017}}</ref> The Oliver Bowen LRT Maintenance Facility (OBMF) in northeast Calgary is a $6.5 million rail facility.<ref>{{cite web|title=Calgary Oliver Bowen LRT Maintenance Facility|url=http://www.pnrrailworks.com/transit-project/calgary-oliver-bowen-lrt-maintenance-facility|website=PNR Railworks|accessdate=5 Feb 2017}}</ref>

Though the South Line was planned to extend to the northwest, political pressures led to the commission of the "Northeast Line", running from [[Whitehorn station]] (at [[36 Street E (Calgary)|36 Street NE]] and 39 Avenue NE) to the downtown core, with a new downtown terminal station for both lines at [[10 Street Southwest station|10 Street SW]], which opened on April 27, 1985.<ref>Calgary Light Rail Expansion ''[[Pacific RailNews]]'' issue 263 October 1985 page 29</ref>

The Northwest Line, the extension of the South Line to the city's northwest, was opened on September 17, 1987, in time for the [[1988 Winter Olympics]].<ref>Interurbans Newsletter ''Pacific RailNews'' issue 289 December 1987 page 46</ref> This line ran from the downtown core to [[University station (Calgary)|University station]], next to the [[University of Calgary]] campus. Since then, all three lines have been extended incrementally, with most of the stations commissioned and built in the 2000s (with the exception of Brentwood which opened in 1990, three years after the original Northwest line opened).

In April 1996, Calgary Transit began piloting a [[commuter rail]] service between [[Anderson station (Calgary)|Anderson station]] and a temporary station located at 162 Avenue SW,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Siemens Regio Sprinter Calgary Transit |url=https://barp.ca/bus/alberta/ct/regiosprinter.html |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=barp.ca}}</ref> operating a rented [[Siemens]] [[RegioSprinter]] DMU which ran on CP Rail MacLeod Subdivision tracks. This pilot was intended as a short-term solution to road congestion for the rapidly growing commuter population in South Calgary and as an experiment to test the viability of a South Red Line extension.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transit History of Calgary, Alberta |url=https://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~wyatt/alltime/calgary-ab.html |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=home.cc.umanitoba.ca}}</ref> A new temporary passenger platform was added on the CP Rail line adjacent to Anderson station. The RegioSprinter was travelled between this platform and a platform at 162 Avenue SW located just north of the present-day [[Somerset–Bridlewood station]]. This service was only in operation during peak hours and was free-of-charge. Service was discontinued after five months.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charles Cooper's Railway Pages - Upper Canada Railway Society (UCRS) and its publications |url=https://railwaypages.com/upper-canada-railway-society-ucrs-and-its-publications |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=railwaypages.com |edition=554th}}</ref>

The West Line, the extension of the Northeast Line, opened for revenue service on December 10, 2012, as the first new line to open in 25 years. The line runs for 8.2&nbsp;km from [[Downtown West–Kerby station]] on 7 Avenue at 11 Street SW at the west end of Downtown, westward to [[69 Street station (Calgary)|69 Street station]] located at the intersection of 17 Avenue and 69 Street SW.
{| class="wikitable"
|+ LRT extensions
! Date !! Stations !! Line
|-
| August 31, 1990 || {{Stl|CTrain|Brentwood}} || Northwest Line
|-
| October 9, 2001 || {{Stl|CTrain|Canyon Meadows}}<br />{{Stl|CTrain|Fish Creek–Lacombe}} || South Line
|-
| December 15, 2003 || {{Stl|CTrain|Dalhousie}} || Northwest Line
|-
| June 28, 2004 || {{Stl|CTrain|Shawnessy}}<br />{{Stl|CTrain|Somerset–Bridlewood}} || South Line
|-
| December 17, 2007 || {{Stl|CTrain|McKnight–Westwinds}} || Northeast Line
|-
| June 15, 2009 || {{Stl|CTrain|Crowfoot}} || Northwest Line
|-
| August 27, 2012 || {{Stl|CTrain|Martindale}}<br />{{Stl|CTrain|Saddletowne}} || Northeast Line
|-
| August 25, 2014 || {{Stl|CTrain|Tuscany}} || Northwest Line
|}[[File:69 Street C-Train 7993821569.jpg|thumb|69th Street station entrance.]]