Somerset–Bridlewood station


Somerset–Bridlewood station is a CTrain light rail station in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the current southern terminus of the South Line. The station is one of two that opened on June 28, 2004 as part of the South LRT Extension Phase II. The station is located on the exclusive LRT right of way, 16.9 km south of the City Hall interlocking along Shawville Gate, to serve the Somerset, Bridlewood and Sundance communities, as well as the nearby Bishop O'Byrne High School and South Fish Creek Recreation Centre. It is one of two stations that also serve the Shawnessy Towne Centre shopping district. 913 parking spaces are included in the park-and-ride facility at the station.
The station consists of a center-loading platform with at-grade crossings at both ends of the platform. The platform is also constructed to accommodate a four-car-length train.
The station name was initially planned to be 162 Avenue Station. However, in late 2003 the City decided to use the current name for it.

History

The site of Somerset-Bridlewood was originally opened as 162nd Ave Station in spring of 1996 as a temporary platform on the CP-Rail line to provide access to a conventional rail service during peak rush hour periods to a platform at Anderson station. The service only lasted five months but the ridership proved popular and led to the priority decision to complete the South extension. The modern station was built on the site of the temporary platform when the CTrain service was extended south and re-opened as Somerset-Bridlewood on June 28, 2004.
Two stub tracks are at the station, an indicator of a future extension to the Silverado development that is scheduled for an opening once there is sufficient development in the area to sustain LRT.
In 2005, the station registered an average of 10,100 boardings per weekday. In 2007, the station registered an average of 13,000 boardings per weekday.

Future expansions

The two stub tracks at the station is an indicator which the city will expand the Red Line, the terminus is unknown at this time due to no specifications from the government, these are some possible places the CTrain will travel in South Calgary: Silverado, Walden and Legacy. The expansion will be built once the city has completed some of Calgary's 30-Year RouteAhead Plans.

Connecting bus routes

11 Southwest Loop
12 Southwest Loop
14 Cranston/Bridlewood
15 Millrise
52 Evergreen/Somerset
78 Sundance/Chaparral
153 Copperfield
178 Sundance/Chaparral
402 Silverado
406 Auburn Bay
444 Chaparral Valley