Plain, trains and automobiles

Stronger transportation links will create an even more viable Alberta

By Peter Wallis

Transportation has historically played a large role in the economic development of Alberta, and it should be an even stronger and more prominent contributor to the province’s economy in the future.

Even prior to 1905, transportation played a critical role in the movement of goods and people into Alberta. Early settlers faced great hardships of climate and terrain, travelling by wagon, cart, and horseback to develop homesteads. The Herculean effort of the Canadian Pacific Railway to push a ribbon of steel across the Canadian Shield over the Prairies and through the mountains to Vancouver is celebrated as one of the great Canadian achievements. The general manager of the railway project, Cornelius Van Horne, was Canada’s first transportation visionary.

an Horne not only built the railway across Canada, but he also strung the telegraph lines alongside the railway for coast-to-coast communications. Van Horne advertised around the world the availability of land for homesteads and built the steamships that carried the settlers to the new lands. As an amateur architect, he helped design and choose the locations for the string of hotels along the Canadian Pacific right-of-way. The multibillion-dollar Alberta tourism industry of 2005 is indebted to his entrepreneurial vision.

The Alberta economy today is dependent upon our ability to move our products to world markets. Efficient road and rail networks, pipelines, and direct air services to world communities allow this province to build upon its existing strengths. Calgary has become a super hub of intermodal transportation. The city is situated strategically on the Trans-Canada Highway running east to west across Canada and on the Canamex Highway that links Alaska to the United States and Central America. Within a single 24-hour drive, companies in Alberta can access a market of 58 million people.

Calgary’s transportation sector has grown 120 percent in the past ten years, and it employs more than 47,000 people. It is home to nearly 500 trucking companies, hauling more than 40 million tonnes of freight annually. The Calgary International Airport is currently the third busiest airport in Canada and was recently named the best airport in the world under 10 million passengers. Cargo traffic in Calgary has doubled over the last ten years as companies have established distribution centres in Calgary recognizing the strategic strengths of Calgary as a distribution hub.

So what of the future for transportation in this province? Our opportunity to build on our strengths is a challenge to which Albertans must rise. To do so will require a broad vision, similar to that of Van Horne at the turn of the century; we need a commitment to push ahead with key transportation economic development projects that will accelerate our position as a substantive player on the world stage.

The Alberta government has indicated it would like to shift the focus of the Alberta economy from primary resources to value-added. This movement will have significant repercussions for the providers of transportation services in a future Alberta. Certain sectors of the Alberta economy will consequently create different demands upon the transportation sector than exists today. The equipment and systems required to move finished or semi-finished products to market will be different from those required for the movement of primary products, and any new systems will have to adhere to both sets of demands.

The accelerated development of a strong road and rail network will allow Alberta producers, manufacturers, and distributors to move goods and services to world markets in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. This will require a major investment in roads and rail. Road improvements will include the twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway in conjunction with the development of ring roads around Alberta’s major centres. A high-speed rail line linking Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton could focus the dramatic growth that is occurring around these centres towards a north/south orientation. A linkage of these centres by high-speed rail could position these communities on the world stage as one economic unit, which could attract more major companies to locate a portion of their worldwide enterprises in Alberta. The upgrading of the rail and road links between Edmonton and Fort McMurray can only positively facilitate the exploitation of the immense energy potential of the oil sands.

Building unrivalled transportation links along the algary/Edmonton corridor and increasing existing road and rail systems to outlying economic centres is key to Alberta’s continued strong economy.

Peter Wallis is president and CEO of the Van Horne Transportation Institute at the University of Calgary, where researchers are working to address tomorrow’s transportation problems. The U of C has also partnered with SAIT to offer a four-year degree program in transportation studies.

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