Calgary Downtown Transit. Click to Enlarge
Description of C-Train system (LRT).
C-Train is the light rail transit (LRT) system in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It has been in operation since 1981. Operated by Calgary Transit, the system currently consists of two major routes on 44.8 km (28 miles) of track, running into the southern, northwestern, and northeastern sections of the city. Currently there are also plans to build additional lines running to the west, north and the southeast of the city. Most track is at grade with its own right of way. The downtown portion is shared right of way. 8% of the system is underground, and 5% is grade separated (elevated). Trains are powered by overhead electric wires and pantographs. In the early 2000s, Calgary Transit began using the spelling CTrain for the LRT system, although this variation has not passed into general use and local media continue to use C-Train.
Today, the C-Train has the highest ridership (both in total and on a per capita basis) of any North American light-rail system with an average of 271,100 boardings per weekday in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to 258,100 for Toronto, Ontario and 257,500 for Boston, Massachusetts, the second and third ranking light rail systems.
