Winnipeg RT is a bus rapid transit system of Winnipeg Transit in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, currently consisting of the Southwest Transitway. Future expansions are in the planning stages, consisting of an Eastern Corridor connecting downtown to Transcona and a West-North Corridor connecting St. James with Downtown and West Kildonan.

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Quick Facts Southwest Transitway, Overview ...

Southwest Transitway
Osborne Station
Overview
System	Bus rapid transit
Operator	Winnipeg Transit
Garage	Primarly Fort Rouge Garage
Began service	8 April 2012 (2012-04-08)
Route
Communities served	Downtown Winnipeg, Ft. Rouge, Ft. Garry, Ft. Richmond, St. Norbert
Start	Balmoral Station
End	University of Manitoba, St. Norbert
Stations	16

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The timeline of accomplishing some form of rapid transit in the Winnipeg area goes back to the late 1950s, when the Greater Winnipeg Transit Commission hired an urban planner from Toronto to design a subway for Winnipeg.

The Future Development of the Greater Winnipeg Transit System recommended a 3 semi-circular lines intersecting at various points in the metro area.^[1][2][3][4] Combined, these three rapid transit lines would have cost $449 million.

During the 1960s when the Greater Winnipeg Development Plan was being written, the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg studied a future transit system for the region. In their report, Winnipeg Area Transportation Study: Projections & Recommendations (Vol. 3), a 5.4-mile (8.69 km) underground subway system between Polo Park Shopping Centre and Henderson and Hespeler Avenue in Elmwood was recommended.^[5][6][7] The WATS study did computerized modelling for a bus only transit system, but found it woefully inadequate for a metro population of 781,000 in 1991.

The transit system visualized in this scheme would involve the introduction of 36 different transit routes totalling 622 route miles and requiring a fleet of 1,090 buses. Such an operation would ensure that, on the average, in the peak hours, buses in the metropolitan area would be spaced at 3.38 minute intervals along their routes. This compares with 6.43 minutes under the system in operation in 1962.

In 1972, Mayor of Winnipeg Steve Juba advocated for a suspended monorail operating along Portage Avenue^[8][9] and later St. Vital. Juba said that it would be cheaper to construct than a subway. Cost estimates were $22 million for the completed project, or $1 million per mile. At the time, the only monorail operating in North America was the Seattle monorail. While Juba was away, City Council held a vote on the monorail, which was lost.

After the amalgamation of Winnipeg with its suburbs in 1972 and the creation of Winnipeg Transit, the newly-created transit department completely changed its view on rapid transit, opting for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) instead, and changing where it should initially go to between downtown Winnipeg and the Fort Garry campus of the University of Manitoba. Deleuuw Dillon was hired to create a plan for bus rapid transit, now the Southwest Transit Corridor. However, politicians balked at the cost of any form of rapid transit—rail or bus, due to the very high initial construction costs. Dillon Consulting remains involved in planning for the SWBRT.

In 2002, Mayor Glen Murray pushed for BRT as the mode choice for the Southwest Transit Corridor using guided bus technology like that in the Essen, Germany. He made a deal with Premier Gary Doer that would see the construction of the Kenaston Underpass, the construction of the Manitoba Hydro headquarters downtown, and the construction of Phase I of the Corridor.^[10] All projects except the BRT were funded and constructed. Murray quit his job as Mayor to run for a seat in the 2004 Federal election, which he lost.

The next Mayor, Sam Katz, promised to cancel a $43-million federal grant for the Southwest Transit Corridor and use that for improving recreation centres.^[11][12] At the same day of the 29 September 2004 vote on rapid transit, 25-year (1979–2004) veteran Transit Director Rick Borland quit the position and retired over the issue^[13] when one of Katz's advisors, Bryan Gray, criticized a report by Winnipeg Transit used to request funding for the busway.^[13]

In November 2004, Katz visited Ottawa and rode the O-Train (now the Trillium Line). Katz commented "And it's new, it's innovative -- it's the 21st century. There's no reason in my mind that we shouldn't explore this."^[14]

Instead, Katz formed an ad hoc group, chaired by Councillor Wyatt (Transcona), in the same ward that New Flyer has its manufacturing plant, to complete a study on the viability of LRT for Winnipeg, though Katz could not accomplish an LRT for Winnipeg. The Rapid Transit Task Force report was released in 2005.

Columnist Tom Brodbeck wrote in a September 2004 Winnipeg Sun article that there had been no cost-benefit analysis of the BRT project.^[12]

As a compromise, Katz allowed Phase I of BRT that "could be converted to LRT at a later date." Papers were signed in September 2008, with construction beginning during the Summer of 2009.^{[citation needed]}

On April 8, 2012, Phase 1 of the Southwest Transitway opened.^{[citation needed]}

On April 12, 2020, Phase 2 of the Southwest Transitway opened.^{[citation needed]}

The Southwest Transitway is a bus rapid transit dedicated roadway in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, which commenced operation in April 2012.^[15]

The first section was built parallel to the railway tracks running southwest from Queen Elizabeth Way at The Forks to Pembina Highway at Jubilee Avenue. An extension from Jubilee Avenue to Markham Road and the University of Manitoba was then built, which opened on April 12, 2020. Bus rapid transit services through the downtown Winnipeg area use the Graham Avenue Transit Mall and other bus priority routes.

Stations

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More information Station, Routes ...

Station	Routes	Description
Balmoral Station	BLUE, 42, 46, 48, 49	The renovated former Winnipeg Bus Terminal (formerly a Greyhound Canada bus depot), located at Balmoral Street next to the University of Winnipeg, is the downtown terminus for rapid transit routes.
Harkness Station	BLUE, 47, 65, 66, 68, 635	Located at the intersection of Harkness and Stradbrook Avenues. Entry and exit point of transitway to local roads to and from downtown. Also, a transfer point for Route 68 and Route 635.
Osborne Station	BLUE, 47, 65, 66	Designed by architectural and landscape company ft3[26] was constructed on a bridge over Osborne Street near Osborne Junction. This station is the only covered station on the Southwest Transitway. Entry and exit point to Warsaw Avenue south of the station for Routes 65, and 66. According to City of Winnipeg documents, Osborne Station cost upwards of $30 M when completed.
Fort Rouge Station	BLUE, 47, 95	Located in the Fort Rouge Yards area off Morley Avenue. Transfers can be made to Route 95 with service to Riverview and Grant Park/Pan Am Pool, Shaftesbury Park, South Tuxedo, and Polo Park. Also the only station that had a kiss & ride, allowing drivers to drop off passengers at the station.
Jubilee Station	BLUE, 47	Is a station just northeast of the Pembina/Jubilee underpass. It opened June 21, 2015,[17] and includes geothermal heating to clear the platform of snow and ice.[27] Directly across the tracks is a retail area comprising Dollar Tree, Salisbury House Restaurant.
Beaumont Station	BLUE, 29, 641, 677	Located north of Parker Avenue, at the north end of Beaumont Street, just east of Georgina Street. Connections to/from Pembina Highway can be made with Route 29, and to/from Waverley Street with Routes 641 and 677.
Seel Station	BLUE, 642, 650, 690, 691, 694	Located at the east end of Seel Avenue, north of McGillivray. The location of a Park and Ride.
Clarence Station	BLUE, 690, 691	Located north of Clarence Avenue, between Marshall and Irene. The location of a Park and Ride.
Chevrier Station	BLUE, 649 (Street Only), 691	Located north of Chevrier Boulevard, between French and Hervo. Connections to/from Pembina Highway can be made with Route 649.
Plaza Station	BLUE	Located at the west end of Plaza Drive, north of Bishop Grandin.
Chancellor Station	BLUE, 676 (Street Only), 693 (Street Only)	Located north and south of Chancellor Drive, between Gaylene and Gull Lake. The St. Norbert and University of Manitoba branches of the BLUE split south of here. Connections to/from Pembina Highway can be made with Route 676.
Southpark Station	BLUE (U of M), 662, 693	On-street stop located on Southpark Drive, northeast of Markham Station, west of Pembina Highway.
Stadium Station	BLUE (U of M)	Located at the east end of Bohemier Trail, west of University Crescent. Terminal for extra buses operating to Princess Auto Stadium on game days.
University of Manitoba Station	BLUE (U of M), 36, 47, 60, 74, 75, 78, 662, 671, 672	On-street stop located on Dafoe Road, west of Alumni Lane, on the University of Manitoba grounds. It is the terminus for all routes serving the University of Manitoba.
Markham Station	BLUE (St. Norbert), 662, 693	Located at the south end of the Southwest Transitway, north of Markham Road.
St. Norbert Station	BLUE (St. Norbert), 91	On-street stop located on Pembina Highway in St. Norbert

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The eastern corridor is a planned bus rapid transit line from downtown Winnipeg to Transcona.

The north-west corridor is a proposed bus rapid transit line that would use either the median or curb lanes along Portage Avenue from Polo Park to downtown, continuing on Main Street all the way to Inkster Boulevard in West Kildonan.

The airport link is a proposed bus rapid transit link connecting Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport to the North-West Corridor.

The CoW used the Phase 2 project as an opportunity to rebuild and expand the Jubilee Underpass, which has a history of flooding during heavy rainfalls in the Summer. Storm drains are being upgraded to prevent flooding. The CN Portage Junction Overpass, constructed in 1948 was replaced by a modern structure in 2018.^{[citation needed]}