Tram systems in Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of Alberta, in western Canada. The city lies on both sides of the North Saskatchewan River, whose valley forms a continuous corridor of parks and trails through the city.
Downtown attractions include the Royal Alberta Museum, Churchill Square and the Alberta Legislature. South of the river, Old Strathcona is known for its shops, theatres and festivals along and around Whyte Avenue.
Edmonton’s public transport combines light rail transit (LRT) with a citywide bus network. Bus routes connect neighbourhoods with major transit centres, many of which offer transfers to the LRT. On Demand Transit links selected neighbourhoods with the wider network.
VIA Rail’s Canadian serves Edmonton on its route between Vancouver and Toronto, via Jasper, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. Seasonal heritage streetcars also run across the High Level Bridge and within Fort Edmonton Park.
The Capital Line runs from Clareview in the northeast through downtown and the University of Alberta to Century Park in the south. The Metro Line runs from NAIT / Blatchford Market to Health Sciences / Jubilee, joining the Capital Line at Churchill and sharing its tracks through the downtown tunnel and across the river. Both lines use high-floor trains with raised platforms.
The Valley Line uses low-floor trams on a separate route. Its operating section runs for 13 kilometres from 102 Street downtown to Mill Woods in southeast Edmonton, crossing the river on the Tawatinâ Bridge. At Churchill, passengers can transfer between the Valley Line’s street-level stop and the underground Capital and Metro lines.
The seasonal High Level Bridge Streetcar runs between Whyte Avenue and Jasper Plaza, linking Old Strathcona with downtown across the upper deck of the bridge. A separate heritage streetcar carries visitors within Fort Edmonton Park.
Edmonton’s Lines tab covers the three modern LRT lines and the High Level Bridge Streetcar.
Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) operates the Capital and Metro lines and the city bus network. TransEd Partners operates the Valley Line Southeast, with a transition to ETS announced in June 2026. The Edmonton Radial Railway Society operates the heritage streetcars, and VIA Rail provides intercity passenger trains.
- Edmonton Transit Service - city bus and LRT routes, timetables and journey planning.
- TransEd - Valley Line Southeast operating information.
- Edmonton Radial Railway Society - heritage streetcar routes and seasonal timetables.
- VIA Rail - intercity train information and bookings.
Regular electric streetcar service began on 9 November 1908, when the municipal Edmonton Radial Railway put four cars into service. Routes radiated from Jasper Avenue and 101 Street, reaching neighbourhoods on both sides of the North Saskatchewan River. Streetcars initially crossed the river on the Low Level Bridge. In 1913, the High Level Bridge provided a second crossing, linking downtown with Strathcona on the upper deck alongside Canadian Pacific Railway trains.
Edmonton introduced its first permanent motor bus route in 1932 and its first trolleybus service in 1939. Trolleybuses and motor buses gradually took over streetcar routes. A ceremonial last run crossed the High Level Bridge on 1 September 1951, using streetcar No. 1. The final fare-paying trip, operated by car No. 52, followed in the early hours of 2 September 1951.
Edmonton’s modern light rail transit (LRT) system opened on 22 April 1978, ahead of that summer’s Commonwealth Games. The initial 7.2-kilometre route linked Central station downtown with Belvedere in the northeast, serving five stations. It was extended north to Clareview in 1981 and west through downtown to Corona in 1983.
The line reached Grandin, now Government Centre, in 1989 and crossed the river to the University of Alberta in 1992. Further extensions reached Health Sciences in 2006, South Campus in 2009 and Century Park in 2010. This corridor became the Capital Line.
Restored Edmonton streetcar No. 1 returned to the High Level Bridge for special trips in 1979, leading to the formation of the Edmonton Radial Railway Society the following year. The society began regular heritage streetcar service at Fort Edmonton Park in 1984 and across the High Level Bridge in 1997, using the former Canadian Pacific Railway tracks for the bridge route.
The Metro Line opened on 6 September 2015, adding a 3.3-kilometre branch from Churchill to a temporary terminus at NAIT, via MacEwan and Kingsway / Royal Alexandra Hospital. On 20 January 2024, the permanent NAIT / Blatchford Market station replaced the temporary terminus.
Construction of the first section of the Valley Line began in 2016, and passenger service opened on 4 November 2023. The 13-kilometre route from 102 Street downtown to Mill Woods introduced low-floor trams to Edmonton’s LRT network. It crosses the river on the Tawatinâ Bridge and connects with the Capital and Metro lines at Churchill.
Edmonton currently has 4 tram lines, which are listed below.
| Line | Description |
|---|---|
| Capital | The Capital Line runs between Clareview and Century Park via Stadium, Churchill, University and Southgate. |
| Metro | The Metro Line runs between NAIT / Blatchford Market and Health Sciences / Jubilee via Kingsway / Royal Alex, MacEwan, Churchill and University.. |
| Valley | The Valley Line runs between 102 Street and Mill Woods via Churchill, Muttart, Bonnie Doon and Davies. |
| HLB | The High Level Bridge Streetcar is a heritage that runs between Whyte Avenue and Jasper Plaza via Old Strathcona, High Level Bridge and Government Centre. |
Edmonton’s three light rail lines use 1,435 mm standard-gauge track and draw DC power from overhead wires using pantographs. The Capital and Metro lines share tracks and use raised platforms for high-floor trains. The Valley Line has its own tracks and low platforms for level boarding. The City’s design guidelines specify a nominal traction supply of 670 V DC for the high-floor network, while the Valley Line West specification gives 750 V DC for the extension.
The Capital and Metro lines run mainly on reserved track, with a shared tunnel beneath downtown and a crossing of the North Saskatchewan River on the Dudley B. Menzies Bridge. The high-floor fleet is based at D.L. MacDonald Yard, between Belvedere and Clareview.
The Valley Line Southeast runs mostly at street level, with embedded track along parts of the route and traffic signals at road intersections. It has 11 street-level stops and one elevated station at Davies, where the line passes above freight railway tracks. The route also includes a short tunnel near Quarters and crosses the river on the Tawatinâ Bridge. The Gerry Wright Operations and Maintenance Facility, near 75 Street and Whitemud Drive, houses the fleet and the line’s control centre.
The high-floor fleet comprises 37 Siemens-Duewag U2 and 57 Siemens SD160 vehicles. Both types are articulated and bidirectional, with a driving cab at each end. The U2s date from the original LRT era, while the SD160s were acquired for later expansion. Vehicles of the same type can be coupled into trains of up to five cars where platform lengths permit.
The Valley Line Southeast fleet comprises 26 Bombardier Flexity low-floor trams. They can run singly or in pairs and have designated spaces for wheelchairs and bicycles.
Hyundai Rotem is supplying 46 additional low-floor vehicles for the Valley Line. The first arrived in 2025, and deliveries are scheduled to continue into 2027. The City has also ordered 40 high-floor vehicles from Hyundai Rotem to replace the U2 fleet and provide capacity for the Capital and Metro line extensions, with deliveries expected in 2029 and 2030.
The heritage streetcar uses approximately 3 kilometres of former Canadian Pacific Railway track. The route passes through a tunnel beneath 109 Street and crosses the North Saskatchewan River on the upper deck of the High Level Bridge. The Strathcona Streetcar Barn houses the heritage fleet, which includes restored Edmonton streetcar No. 33.
The 14-kilometre Valley Line West extension is under construction from 102 Street downtown to Lewis Farms. It will add 14 street-level stops and two elevated stations, serving Misericordia Hospital and West Edmonton Mall. The extension will join the existing southeast section to form a 27-kilometre low-floor route between Mill Woods and Lewis Farms.
The City expects construction to finish in 2028, followed by testing and commissioning. A passenger opening date has yet to be confirmed.
The first phase of the Capital Line South extension will extend the line 4.5 kilometres from Century Park to Heritage Valley North, just north of Ellerslie Road. It will add a neighbourhood station at Twin Brooks and connect with the existing transit centre and park-and-ride at Heritage Valley. Major construction began in 2025 and is expected to finish in 2029, followed by testing and commissioning. A passenger opening date has yet to be confirmed.
A second phase would continue south to Allard / Desrochers. The City has advanced the concept design, but construction funding and a timetable have yet to be confirmed.
Blatchford Gate station was built as part of the first phase of the northwest extension, beyond the current terminus at NAIT / Blatchford Market. It will open when the City’s transit service criteria are met. The City has yet to announce an opening date.
The next phase would extend the line 4.2 kilometres from Blatchford to Castle Downs, via Griesbach. A third phase would continue west to Campbell Road, terminating at the Nakî Transit Centre and Park & Ride. The City has approved funding for land acquisition between Blatchford and Castle Downs. Construction funding for that phase has yet to be secured, and neither phase has a confirmed construction timetable.
A proposed 2.9-kilometre extension would take the Capital Line north from Clareview to a new station at Gorman, north of 153 Avenue. Preliminary engineering was completed in 2010. Further design and construction depend on funding.