EDMONTON, AB: If the Minister of Infrastructure wants to fund the Calgary Green Line LRT with carbon tax money, he must then come forward and explain increasing project costs, Wildrose Calgary-Foothills MLA Prasad Panda said last week.
The cost of the Calgary Green Line LRT has increased from $98 million to $233 million per kilometer. Residents of North Central Calgary will have to wait longer for rapid transit as Phase 1 of the Calgary Green Line LRT will not reach their community. The length of the rail track shrunk from 46 kilometres to 21 kilometres while the project cost remained at $4.6 billion.
“Mr. Mason believes it is prudent to build while in the midst of an economic downturn,” Panda said. “He must then explain why the cost of this project has more than doubled over the span of two years.”
Wildrose supports the Calgary Green Line. However, schedule and cost overruns are not acceptable during an economic downturn.
“How is it that the scope of the Calgary Green Line LRT has been reduced while costs have increased,” Panda said. “Calgarians and Albertans alike deserve an explanation.”