Alberta Premier Danielle Smith Discusses Railways

Danielle Smith, Premier of Canada’s Alberta Province, discusses freight and passenger rail in the Province from economic, social and environmental standpoints with Railway Age Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City are essential to Canada’s economy and the nation’s growing role as an exporter, as well as Alberta’s overall prosperity, Smith believes. A former columnist and media personality who has been serving as the 19th Premier of Alberta and leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) since October 2022, Smith also strongly supports passenger rail—and is a bit of an enthusiast. The Alberta government on April 29 announced a Passenger Rail Plan aimed at increasing passenger rail service in the province. It will assess the feasibility of passenger rail in the province, including regional (intercity), commuter and high-speed services, “will look forward decades and identify concrete actions that can be taken now, as well as in the future, to build the optimal passenger rail system for the province.” Alberta’s government has released a Request for Expression of Interest (RFEI) to “seek world-class knowledge and consultant services as a first step toward the development of the Passenger Rail Master Plan for Alberta.” Following this process, a Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued to select a consultant to develop the Passenger Rail Master Plan, which is expected to be completed by summer 2025.