CBC News – British Columbia – VIDEO: Light rail recommended for Fraser Valley
VIDEO: Light rail recommended for Fraser Valley
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 | 10:45 AM PT Comments32Recommend20
CBC News
A new report says a light rail commuter line with 18 stops from Surrey to Chilliwack, B.C., would be an inexpensive way to beat traffic congestion in the Fraser Valley.
via CBC News – British Columbia – VIDEO: Light rail recommended for Fraser Valley.
Rail for the Valley – Breakfast Television Vancouver – Citytv Video Portal
Video Clip: Rail for the Valley (02:58)
John Vissers from Rail for the Valley joins BT to discuss the possibility of commuter trains going out to Chilliwack.
via Rail for the Valley – Breakfast Television Vancouver – Citytv Video Portal.
Langley Times – Editorial A?ai??i??ai??? Speed up transit decisions
Editorial A?ai??i??ai??? Speed up transit decisions
Published: October 05, 2010 10:00 AM
Updated: October 05, 2010 10:01 AM
Premier Gordon Campbell stated on Friday that SkyTrain will eventually be extended to Langley.
In his speech to the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, the premier said that the SkyTrain extension will be part of the next phase of a capital program for transportation improvements, which began in 2002.
The premier gave no date as to when SkyTrain will arrive in this community. Earlier announcements on the SkyTrain extension indicated that it would come as far east as 168 Street and Fraser Highway by 2020, and on to Willowbrook by 2030.
While rapid transit would be welcome, 20 years is a long time to wait A?ai??i??ai??? especially if the growth south of the Fraser continues at the frenetic pace of the past decade.
For some reason, the provincial government and TransLink seem to keep shying away from even talking about use of the interurban rail corridor between Chilliwack and Surrey. A recent study showed that for $500 million, equipment could be purchased, 100 kilometres of tracks upgraded and service inaugurated on a 20- to 30-minute headway.
The cost of SkyTrain is far higher than that. The much-delayed Evergreen Line, which still has a funding shortfall, is estimated to cost at least $1.4 billion, and it involves a relatively short (11 kilometre) SkyTrain extension from the Lougheed station to Port Moody and Coquitlam Town Centre.
There is no doubt that SkyTrain reduces the many challenges of roads crossing railway tracks at grade. However, commuter rail using existing tracks works well in cities as varied as New York, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal and Seattle, so there is no reason it canA?ai??i??ai???t work here.
In addition, extending rail service as far east as Chilliwack would recognize the reality that many people travel from throughout the Fraser Valley to the larger urban centres of Langley, Surrey, Coquitlam and Burnaby A?ai??i??ai??? as well as Vancouver and Richmond. It would also provide a vastly-improved internal transit service south of the Fraser, something that is long overdue.
The provincial government is correct to identify the need for much-improved transit services south of the Fraser, the area of B.C. growing at the fastest rate. However, its insistence on use of the SkyTrain technology is consuming a great deal of capital and delaying projects that are needed now.
A?ai??i??ai??? Frank Bucholtz
via Langley Times – Editorial A?ai??i??ai??? Speed up transit decisions.
Study lauds light rail
Study lauds light rail
Light trains can carry South of the Fraser commuters, a new consultant’s report suggests.
By Christina Toth and Heather Colpitts, Postmedia Network Inc. September 24, 2010
One hundred years after the Interurban rail wound its way across the Fraser Valley, light rail proponents in Langley and beyond are optimistic the passenger service can make a comeback, after the release of a feasibility study on Monday.
Rail service could be re-established on about 100 kilometres of the existing BC Hydro-owned line for $500 million, with the main train depot located in Abbotsford, says a report commissioned by the Rail for the Valley group.
“We’re tremendously excited. This is the most comprehensive light rail study ever undertaken in this province, performed by an outfit with expertise in light rail solutions,” said John Buker, a founder of RFTV and a study coordinator.
“This is an independent analysis by a respected company based in Great Britain that has a very solid track record in rail planning, including work on, among other things the Channel Tunnel. This report will, at long last, provide us with an honest accounting of the potential for passenger rail service on the Interurban corridor. This is something that has been sorely lacking in all provincial government-commissioned studies to date,” he said.
The track is currently owned by BC Hydro, and is used for freight by Southern Railway.
Joe Zacharias, co-founder of South Fraser OnTrax rail advocacy group, said the report isn’t comprehensive.
But it’s good to see more expert analysis of Fraser Valley transit needs, the Langley resident commented.
“I think other experts could add to this body of work,” he said.
Langley Township Councillor Jordan Bateman, an advocate of better transit for communities South of the Fraser, said he’s pleased to have another assessment that shows the viability of passenger rail.
“Anything that advances the cause of light rail South of the Fraser is a good thing,” he said.
The author, David Cockle of Leewood Projects of England, reviewed the potential for an affordable and sustainable public light rail service on the existing and publicly owned Interurban rail corridor, which runs 98 kilometres from Surrey to Chilliwack, passing through Langley City and Township.
He proposes two options, one diesel and one electric, plus future links to Richmond, Burnaby, Vancouver and east of Chilliwack.
The report projects capital costs for the diesel/hybrid option for the Chilliwack-Scott Road line at $500 million, or $5 million per kilometre, and $606 million for an electric option, or $6.2 per km. There would be 10 stops along this corridor.
The report proposes three trains per hour on the route during commuter peak times on week days, twice an hour during non-peak times and weekends. Riders could use a microchip smart card that could be prepaid and reloaded for any combination of ride tickets.
Costs to the rider would have to be comparable or cheaper than current bus fares or driving, the author writes.
Travel times are estimated to be 90 minutes from Chilliwack to the Scott Road SkyTrain Station, 45 minutes from Abbotsford to Surrey, and two hours to downtown Vancouver.
The trip from Knight Road in Sardis to Abbotsford would be under 30 minutes, and from Chilliwack to Yarrow, 13.5 minutes.
The track would have to be upgraded to accommodate passenger trains travelling at 80 to 100 kilometres per hour, and switches, spur lines, controls, stations and other infrastructure would have to be considered.
Another potential hitch is that the stretch of tracks in Langley is heavily used by freight trains heading to and from the Deltaport shipping terminal.
The first Interurban line was a forward-looking project. It was opened with much pomp on Oct. 3, 1910, in anticipation of the thousands who would eventually live in New Westminster and Vancouver, and the many others who would settle in the Fraser Valley and grow food and harvest the timber for the urban dwellers.
Cockle’s report includes a quote from 1910 news story on the event, in which a one rural representative said, “you need us and we need you and this line is going to be the connecting link which will bring us together for our mutual advantage.”
The line closed in 1950 when upkeep became costly and more residents increasingly used their own vehicles to get around.
The Rail for the Valley group has waited for a $400,000 provincial study on light rail since 2008, when it was announced, but its scope didn’t include Vancouver, Surrey and Langley. The group concluded that it was doubtful the provincial report will shed much light on the true potential for a light rail service, said Buker.
“Hence our commissioning of the independent analysis by a company with expertise in light rail,” he said.
To view the report go to railforthevalley.wordpress.com, or leewoodprojects.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/chilliwack-to-surrey-interurban-final-reportr.pdf.
Ai??Ai?? Copyright (c) Langley Advance
Report supports light rail
Report supports light rail
‘An honest accounting’ of the potential transit system
By Christina Toth, The Times September 21, 2010
Light rail proponents are optimistic about having passenger service return to the Fraser Valley after the release of a feasibility study on Monday.
“We’re tremendously excited. This is the most comprehensive light rail study ever undertaken in this province, performed by an outfit with expertise in light rail solutions,” said John Buker, a founder of Rail For the Valley founder and a study co-ordinator.
“This is an independent analysis by a respected company based in Great Britain that has a very solid track record in rail planning, including work on, among other things the Channel Tunnel. This report will, at long last, provide us with an honest accounting of the potential for passenger rail service on the Interurban corridor. This is something that has been sorely lacking in all provincial government-commissioned studies to date.”
The report looked at the issues on re-establishing a passenger services on the former Interurban track, which runs from Chilliwack to Surrey, and which is currently used by Southern Railway for freight.
The capital costs for a diesel/hybrid train on a run from Chilliwack to the Scott Road Skytrain station would be $500 million ($5 million per kilometre) or $606 million for an electric option ($6.2 per km).
The report proposes three trains per hour on the route during commuter peak times through the work week, twice an hour during non-peak times and weekends. Riders could use a microchip smart card that could be prepaid and reloaded for any combination of ride tickets.
The report also looked at options to downtown Vancouver (a $1 billion price tag) and to Richmond.
Travel times are estimated to be 90 minutes from Chilliwack to the Scott Road Skytrain Station, or two hours in total if a commuter continued to downtown Vancouver. The trip from Knight Road in Sardis to Abbotsford would take under 30 minutes, and a trip from Chilliwack to Yarrow, just 13.5 minutes
The author, Leewood Projects of England, analyzed the potential for light rail service on the existing and publicly owned Interurban rail corridor, and its potential to connect communities south of the Fraser from Chilliwack to Vancouver with an affordable, sustainable public transportation system. The Interurban serviced the valley daily until the late 1950s.
Buker said his group had been waiting for a $400,000 provincial study on light rail, but its scope didn’t include Vancouver, Surrey and Langley. Rail For The Valley concluded that it was doubtful the provincial report, when it is finally released, will shed much light on the true potential for a light rail service.
To view the report online, connect to: leewoodprojects.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/chilliwack-to-surrey-interurban-final-reportr.pdf
Ai??Ai?? Copyright (c) Chilliwack Times
via Report supports light rail.
Mayor remains mum on latest rail system study
Mayor remains mum on latest rail system study
By Tyler Olsen, The Times September 24, 2010
Fraser Valley rail activist John Vissers hopes an in-depth report that bills the capital costs of a rail connection between Chilliwack and Surrey at $500 million will help convince city council to support a Fraser Valley passenger rail system.
The report, which was released Monday and commissioned by Rail for the Valley, says that a half-billion dollars of upgrades and vehicles would allow passengers to make a 90-minute rail trip between Chilliwack and the Scott Road Skytrain station in Surrey. For $100 million more, that line could be electrified.
Vissers, a spokesperson with Rail for the Valley, said the plan “is very good news.”
Factor in carbon offsets and the ability for people to get from community to community without purchasing a car and gas, and Vissers said “an electrified community rail system would actually save us money and it would help the economy.”
Vissers hoped that the report would help convince Chilliwack council and mayor Sharon Gaetz to throw their support behind a valleywide rail task force that has representatives from most other Fraser Valley municipalities.
“I like Sharon,” said Vissers, “but she’s just kind of waffling on this.”
Gaetz, however, declined to comment on the report. City hall spokesperson Starlee Renton said “her position is [that] she’s still waiting for the province’s report to come out.”
Coun. Diane Janzen was willing to talk about trains.
“I think it’s very good that they put some of the capital costs down,” said Janzen. However, she said that it is difficult to determine the feasibility of rail without knowing the proposed system’s operating costs, which are not projected in the report.
Janzen noted that public transportation is generally heavily subsidized by governments, which are currently feeling the fiscal pinch. She would also like to see a breakdown of the numbers and characteristics of the prospective users.
But she said the report is another piece of valuable information that can only aid in the decision making process. Janzen added: “One of the things about the transportation issue is that it’s so mammoth in size in terms of what it can do for people; it’s so important. But it’s also such a huge public investment that it has to be done very carefully. It’s one of those things where you can’t un-ring the bell.”
Vissers, for his part, said the report is an important “first step” and acknowledged that more research needs to be done before any money is spent on track upgrades.
But he is adamant that rail is the way to go.
The provincial government continues to sit on a transportation study that cost $400,000. Vissers–who sat on a committee convened by the study–said he has heard that the study may recommend “one or two buses” over the next 10 years. Needless to say, he doesn’t like the sound of that.
Council recently passed a motion that asks the Ministry of Transportation to release the report.
“The city of Chilliwack is extremely interested in that document,” said Janzen. The city’s request follows a similar motion by the Fraser Valley Regional District. Vissers too would like to see the report, such as it is.
“We’re really disappointed that the provincial government has spent $400,000 on a private consulting firm to do a study on the Fraser Valley and we haven’t heard anything about it,” said Vissers.
Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Jeff Knight told the Times that the report “is supposed to be ready sometime this fall.”
Asked what the hold up was, Knight would only say (twice) that “it’s very close.”
Ai??Ai?? Copyright (c) Chilliwack Times
via Mayor remains mum on latest rail system study.
Report supports valley light rail
Report supports valley light rail
By Christina Toth, The Times September 24, 2010
One hundred years after the Interurban rail wound its way across the Fraser Valley, light rail proponents are optimistic the passenger service can make a comeback after the release of a feasibility study on Monday.
Rail service could be re-established on about 100 kilometres of the existing B.C. Hydro-owned line for $500 million, with the main train depot possibly located in Abbotsford, said a report commissioned by the Rail for the Valley group.
“We’re tremendously excited. This is the most comprehensive light rail study ever undertaken in this province, performed by an outfit with expertise in light rail solutions,” said John Buker, a founder of RFTV and a study co-ordinator.
“This is an independent analysis by a respected company based in Great Britain that has a very solid track record in rail planning, including work on, among other things, the Channel Tunnel.
“This report will, at long last, provide us with an honest accounting of the potential for passenger rail service on the Interurban corridor. This is something that has been sorely lacking in all provincial government-commissioned studies to date,” said Buker.
The track is currently owned by B.C. Hydro, and is used for freight by Southern Railway.
The author, David Cockle of Leewood Projects of England, reviewed the potential for an affordable and sustainable public light rail service on the existing and publicly owned Interurban rail corridor, which runs 98 kilometres from Chilliwack to Surrey. He proposes two options, one diesel and one electric, plus future links to Richmond, Burnaby, Vancouver and east of Chilliwack.
The report projects capital costs for the diesel/hybrid option for the Chilliwack-Scott Road line at $500 million, or $5 million per kilometre, and $606 million for an electric option, or $6.2 per km. There would be 10 stops along this corridor.
The report proposes three trains per hour on the route during commuter peak times on week days, twice an hour during non-peak times and weekends.
Riders could use a microchip smart card that could be prepaid and reloaded for any combination of ride tickets.
Costs to the rider would have to be comparable or cheaper than current bus fares or driving, the author writes.
Travel times are estimated to be 90 minutes from Chilliwack to the Scott Road SkyTrain Station, 45 minutes from Abbotsford to Surrey, and about 85 minutes from Abbotsford to downtown Vancouver, for commuters who transfer to SkyTrain in Surrey. The trip from Knight Road in Sardis to Abbotsford would be under 30 minutes, and from Chilliwack to Yarrow, 13.5 minutes.
– For more, visit us online, www.abbotsfordtimes.com.
Ai??Ai?? Copyright (c) Abbotsford Times
via Report supports valley light rail.
Chilliwack Progress – Regional transportation needs ‘holistic’ approach
Regional transportation needs ‘holistic’ approach
By Katie Bartel – Chilliwack Progress
Published: September 24, 2010 1:00 PM
Updated: September 24, 2010 1:38 PM
As much as a light rail service could benefit the Fraser Valley, it’s not the be all end all solution for connecting communities, says the president of the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce.
“Getting rail for the valley is not going to solve everyone’s problems, it’s not going to be the silver bullet solution,” says Jason Lum, president of the Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce.
Lum was responding to a report released earlier this week by U.K. based consultant David Cockle, on behalf of Rail for the Valley, which promoted the feasibility of a light rail line from Chilliwack to Surrey.
Lum hadn’t seen the report, but had read an article on it.
While he agrees that better transportation options are needed A?ai??i??ai??? an issue chambers of commerce throughout the Fraser Valley have been pushing for A?ai??i??ai??? he says communities would be better served with a combination of options that would include things like commuter buses or rapid transit buses connecting the various cities as well as light rail.
“The Chambers’ message to all levels of government has been that it’s time for some action,” says Lum. “We know what the challenges are with funding, but it’s time to have an action oriented plan, to have results for better transportation linking the communities.
“Adding more single passenger vehicles onto the road is not the solution,” says Lum. “We as a society have to make a shift away from our reliance on cars as a principle means of transportation.”
Lum says a holistic approach needs to be taken, that communities south of the Fraser need to work together to implement a transportation plan that would work for all communities involved. He’d like to see a task force set up that has politicians and key stakeholders working together for better transportation.
But, he notes, it all comes down to money and what taxpayers are willing to pay for.
“People need to understand the true cost of the infrastructure they use,” he says. “This isn’t a popular option … but tolling and road pricing has shown to be an effective way of illuminating the costs of infrastructure … but again, it’s a decision that taxpayers need to make. Do they want to pay [higher taxes] or continue to drive around in their cars?”
kbartel@theprogress.com
via Chilliwack Progress – Regional transportation needs ‘holistic’ approach.
BCLocalNews.com – COLUMN: We should get on track
COLUMN: We should get on track
By Frank Bucholtz – Surrey North Delta Leader
Published: September 23, 2010 2:00 PM
Updated: September 23, 2010 2:42 PM
A study looking at resurrecting rail passenger service along the former interurban line needs to receive careful attention from Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley mayors, and from the provincial government.
The study was commissioned by Rail for the Valley, a lobby group that specifically wants to see more light rail service within the Fraser Valley, specifically from Surrey and Delta to Chilliwack along the former B.C. Electric Railway line.
That line was initially built to transport passengers, express, mail and freight. It did so very well from 1910 to 1950. It is almost completely intact today, and is used as a freight railway.
The provincial government has an ace in the hole when it comes to making use of the line. The land it sits on is owned by B.C. Hydro, which took over the B.C. Electric Company in 1961. When Hydro sold its freight railway off in the late 1980s, the province reserved the right to run passenger trains along the tracks A?ai??i??ai??? a right it continues to hold today.
When passenger service ceased on the interurban, 60 years ago this month, the entire Fraser Valley had fewer than 80,000 people living in it. Modern roads and bus service meant that there was less demand for a passenger rail service. At that time, the service was run by a private company which received no subsidy to carry passengers at a loss. It had no choice but to end service.
Today, there are one million Fraser Valley residents, with the population estimated to grow to 1.5 million over the next 20 years.
Anyone who has spent time on Highway 1 anywhere within the Valley knows that it is becoming more and more congested each year. While improvements to the freeway from 216 Street into Vancouver to accommodate the new Port Mann Bridge are underway, the road is scheduled to remains two lanes in each direction from 216 Street east.
Consultant David Cockle has suggested that a diesel-powered train could make the run from Chilliwack to the Scott Road SkyTrain station in Surrey in 90 minutes, at speeds of between 80 and 100 km/h. It could run every 20 to 30 minutes, and make 18 stops A?ai??i??ai??? all for a capital cost of just under $500 million. For another $115 million, the service could be electrified and be completely emission-free.
Former transportation minister Kevin Falcon never seemed very interested in the revival of the interurban. He made the valid point that the line meanders through the Valley, and goes through a number of agricultural areas where there is little prospect of traffic.
But it also goes through most major town centres south of the Fraser A?ai??i??ai??? Chilliwack, Sardis, Abbotsford, Langley City, and several shopping areas in Surrey, including Cloverdale, Newton, Scott Road and just west of Whalley. It also is very close to seven post-secondary institutions A?ai??i??ai??? three Kwantlen Polytechnic University campuses, Simon Fraser University, Trinity Western University and two campuses of the University of the Fraser Valley.
ItA?ai??i??ai???s high time that TransLink started to do a better job serving the area south of the Fraser.
This study needs to be carefully compared to a study the province has commissioned, a strategic review of Fraser Valley transit expansion options, which may be released this fall.
via BCLocalNews.com – COLUMN: We should get on track.
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