Valley Line Light Rail Shadow Operations – Canada

  • 27km dual track urban light rail scheme
  • 28 stations
  • 100,000 commuters per day expected to be carried
  • 5-minute frequency of light rail vehicles across 20 hours a day

The Valley Line is a future 27km low-floor urban light rail line in Edmonton, Canada, currently under construction as part of the Edmonton Light Rail Transit. The system is split into two stages:

  • Stage 1: Valley Line South East – 13km with 12 stops
  • Stage 2: Valley Line West – a 14km extension with 16 stops.

Construction began in April 2016, with the whole system expecting to be operational by 2027. Upon completion of the entire line, the Valley Line is expected to serve over 100,000 commuters daily, increasing connectivity for the city’s residents and encouraging a modal shift to a more sustainable form of transport. The Valley Line is a $4.5 billion investment for the Governments of Canada and Alberta.

North Star has been acting as Shadow Operator for the procurement, design, construction and commissioning of the Valley Line West expansion and for the overall Valley Line infrastructure, including the systems and light rail vehicles. Using our knowledge of industry best practices and lessons learnt from similar networks, we are providing advice and recommendations to optimise the operability and maintainability of the network.

We were also commissioned to conduct a detailed modelling exercise for the Valley Line that incorporated run time modelling, timetable development and stress testing of the timetable to deliver operational reliability. Additionally, we calculated the rolling stock requirements to be used as the basis for the multi-million-dollar procurement of new rolling stock to serve the network.