Churchill station is an Edmonton Light Rail Transit station in Edmonton, Alberta. It serves the Capital Line, Metro Line, and Valley Line. An underground station beneath Churchill Square serves the Capital and Metro Lines and is a part of the Edmonton Pedway system.
An at-grade surface platform for the Valley Line is above the underground station at Rue Hull (99 Street) and 102 Avenue, and was opened on November 4, 2023.[3]
The at-grade platform facilitates transfers between the Metro and Capital lines below grade, and the Valley Line and Festival Line at the surface level. By 2040 Churchill LRT Station is expected to be one of the major hubs of the Edmonton LRT system, with four out of the five lines currently approved by the City passing through the station.
History edit
Churchill station opened on April 22, 1978 when the LRT system first began operations.[4]
A tragedy occurred in August 1988 when Cathy Greeve, a 29-year-old mother of two, was found strangled to death in one of the washrooms at the station.[5]
In November 2006, Churchill became the first LRT station in Edmonton to have an exclusive advertisement campaign, with all ad space, as well as many other parts of the station, being used for advertisements for Enmax.
Station layout edit
The underground station has a 129-metre-long (423 ft) centre loading platform that can accommodate two five-car LRT trains at the same time, with one train on each side of the platform. At just under 8 m wide (26 ft), the underground platform is narrow by current Edmonton LRT design guidelines. Access to the platform is from the concourse level by stairs and escalators located at each end of the platform. The concourse level is part of the Edmonton pedway system.[6]
The system control centre for the Capital and Metro lines is located on the Churchill Station concourse level. The Edmonton Transit System Customer Services centre, complete with lost and found, was also located in the station before moving to City Hall in February 2013,[7] then to the Edmonton Tower in early 2017. At one time, windows allowed pedestrians to view the control centre, but these were removed in 2008.
Public art edit
The underground Churchill station includes two pieces of public art. The first, "Ridden Down" is an abstract sculpture using welded steel that was installed in 1996. The second is a mural entitled "New Year's Eve".[8]
Lines edit
The station serves as a transfer point for the Metro Line, Capital Line, and Valley Line.[9][10]
Safety and Security edit
Churchill station is monitored by CCTV cameras. It is equipped with operator alert systems which allow passengers to contact the train operator in the event of an emergency. Likewise, Churchill station is equipped with blue emergency help phones which connect with ETS Security. It is patrolled by transit peace officers.[11]
The most serious incidents include:
- In 1988, a woman was strangled to death in a washroom.[5]
- In 2012, a 49-year-old male was followed onto the LRT platform by two males, and was assaulted and thrown onto the LRT tracks.[12]
- In June 2022, Edmonton Police Service officers fatally shot an armed suspect.[13]
Around the station edit
- Churchill Square
- Art Gallery of Alberta
- Canada Place
- Citadel Theatre
- Downtown
- Edmonton City Centre
- Edmonton City Hall
- Francis Winspear Centre for Music
- Oxford Tower
- Provincial Court of Alberta
- Royal Alberta Museum
- Shaw Conference Centre
- Stanley A. Milner Library
- TD Tower
- Ukrainian Canadian Archives & Museum of Alberta
References edit
- ^ "SD160 Light Rail Vehicle" (PDF). Siemens Transportation Systems, Inc. May 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2010. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- ^ "2019 LRT Passenger Count Report" (PDF). City of Edmonton. April 2020. Retrieved 5 Feb 2021.
- ^ "Long-awaited Valley Line Southeast LRT officially opens to passengers". CBC. November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ "LRT Line Names Approved". City of Edmonton. Archived from the original on 2017-03-09. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
- ^ a b Drake, Laura; Warnica, Richard; Sumamo, Yonathan (May 23, 2010). "Woman's murder rattles LRT riders". Edmonton Journal. Canada.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-25. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
- ^ City of Edmonton (July 2011). "LRT Design Guidelines 2011" (PDF). City of Edmonton. p. 700. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
- ^ City of Edmonton (February 15, 2013). "ETS Customer Services Moves to City Hall". City of Edmonton. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- ^ "Churchill Station Art". City of Edmonton. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ^ "TransEd Partners picked to build, operate Edmonton's Valley LRT Line". CBC News. November 25, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ^ "Valley Line – Stage 1 Mill Woods Town Centre to 102 Street" (PDF). City of Edmonton. November 25, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2016.
- ^ "Safety and Security :: City of Edmonton". 2014-03-25. Archived from the original on 2014-03-25. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "Man Thrown On LRT Tracks, Not Allowed To Escape". HuffPost. 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "Fatal officer-involved shooting under investigation near central Edmonton LRT crossing". Global News. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
External links edit
Media related to Churchill station (ETS) at Wikimedia Commons
