City weighing options for train tracks on Ring Road

After grumbling and frustration from drivers for years, Regina’s city council finally has some options on how to get rid of the train delays on Ring Road.

A report from the city’s administration laid out several options. That report will be considered by the city’s executive committee Wednesday and then likely will be put on the agenda for the city council meeting at the end of the month.

The option the city’s administration is recommending is to remove both the CN and CP Rail tracks from Ring Road altogether, and to lay new tracks around the northern part of the city, north of the proposed Somerset development, to join with existing tracks on the K-Lead Spur line near Highway 6 and Armour Road.

A diagram illustrating the City of Regina administration’s recommended plan to deal with the train tracks crossing Ring Road. Click on the picture to expand it. (Submitted)

The cost estimate in the report for this option is about $107 million, though that could change as the project continues and the requirements become more refined.

The administration’s report said it’s recommending that option because there would be minimal impacts to traffic flow during construction, the rail lines would be moved away from existing and future residential neighbourhoods, it would remove the “below standard crossing angle” of the tracks at Winnipeg Street, and there would be opportunities for rail connections in future industrial developments.

There’s another option which is estimated to cost only about $86 million. It would remove the tracks from Ring Road but would lay new tracks south of the Somerset development to get to the existing K-Lead Spur line. However, that would require parts of the proposed Somerset development to be changed.

In both of those situations, the rail companies would have to be involved.

“Rail relocation requires full support of both rail companies in order to be successful,” reads the report.

The other two options involve a lot of building on Ring Road — either breaking down Winnipeg Street and bridging Ring Road over the rail lines and Winnipeg Street, or having Ring Road run underneath the rail lines and Winnipeg Street.

The first of those options would cost about $141 million, while the second would cost $106 million.

The City of Regina has already been awarded $19.6 million from the federal and provincial governments for a renewal of the Winnipeg Street bridge over Ring Road, and any major change in that plan because of the plan to deal with the train tracks could put that money in jeopardy.

The whole project is estimated to take about eight years to finish, with a start in 2020.

The administration is also recommending that a financing plan be ready for council to consider in the 2020 budget.

The first step to getting things started after an option is chosen will be a preliminary design, estimated to cost about $2 million by itself.