Liricon Capital Inc. plans on providing hydrogen-powered transportation from Calgary-to-Banff, however, the train could plan could be derailed as conservation advocates and experts have environmental concerns for the grizzly bear population in the area..The company said its a solution with lower greenhouse gas emissions than driving which "gained support" from municipal governments and the tourism industry in Alberta..The Alberta government has told the Globe and Mail it won't invest in the $1.5-billion train because the financial risks are too high..Conservation experts believe wildlife deaths along the rail line will increase. Noting that grizzly bears, have been hit and killed on the existing track in Alberta's already busy Bow Valley.."The thought of this new rail line, which would be really close to the existing rail line, is really troublesome — not just in the park, but outside the park on provincial lands and Stoney Nakoda (First Nations) as well," Tony Clevenger, a senior wildlife research scientist with the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University told CTV News..Parks Canada said in a statement, "its first priority is to protect the ecological integrity in national parks," but it's "not currently reviewing a proposal for passenger rail in Banff National Park." Any review, it added, "would look at policy and legislation, including the Impact Assessment Act and park priorities.".According to a recent report by a Canmore based environmental group, the mountain town's footprint has grown five times in 50 years..The report focused on grizzly bears and stated, "if you take care of grizzlies, you take care of a lot of other things.".The report found bears have lost about 85% of their original habitat in the Bow Valley..Conservation experts are calling for an adequate assessment of how wildlife will be impacted. There is also the question of whether a train would actually reduce cars on the highway to the park.."A study shows the train could carry about 11 million passengers annually and reduce highway traffic," Jan Watrous, managing partner with Liricon told CTV News.."The fact that the passenger train will be a zero-emission hydrogen train and significantly reduce vehicle traffic … means human and wildlife mortality on the highways will be dramatically reduced," Watrous said.."The specifics of the hydrogen solution and wildlife mitigations will be determined through consultation.".The company also said it's considering using technology such as "lighting or sound to warn animals" about approaching trains and reduce wildlife deaths on the tracks.
