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.