Getting Valley rail on track – the South of the Fraser Rail Task Force
An article in the Abbotsford News about the South of the Fraser Rail Task Force, headed by Langley Township Mayor Rick Green.
Letters to the Editor of the Abbotsford News are strongly encouraged! (Email newsroom@abbynews.com)
Excerpt:
A regular train service arrives in downtown Abbotsford from Surrey and Langley, collecting passengers and transporting them to other areas of the city or as far east as Chilliwack.
It may sound like a long-term dream for rail enthusiasts, but according to a newly formed group pushing for the service, it could become a reality sooner rather than later.
The South of the Fraser Rail Task Force is currently looking for the backing of Valley municipalities in its push for rail connectivity.
Should that happen, it wants to see a A?ai??i??Ai??demonstration projectA?ai??i??A? conducted on the old interurban line, to determine whether the track is a viable long-term option to help link communities.
The group has been put together by Langley Township Mayor Rick Green, and task force member Peter Holt was in Abbotsford on Monday to pitch the groupA?ai??i??ai???s case to mayor and council.
Congratulations Andrew, for this Letter to the Editor, published in today’s Abbotsford News:
City has Third World transit
Your lead article entitled “Getting Valley rail on track†in Thursday’s paper implies that a regular train service through the Valley is something “local rail enthusiasts†would like to see.
Well, its appeal of course, is much wider than this.
The City of Abbotsford suffers extraordinary deprivation on account of its poor transit connections with other communities in the Valley.
Greyhound has recently reduced its already limited number of buses going to Vancouver.
BC Transit’s route 21 offers a miserable service to TransLink’s route 502 bus at Aldergrove while the latter adds insult to injury by wandering aimlessly through the countryside before lumbering into Langley at approximately hourly intervals. It is amazing to me that the West Coast Express simply never makes it as far as Abbotsford but rather terminates 10 kilometres short in Mission.
The reason why it doesn’t turn right at the Mission bridge and run down to Abbotsford can only be seen as a cynical slight at the people of Abbotsford.
The fact is when it comes to our transit connections with the outside world, we are a Third World community.
It might come as a surprise to some readers, but in many cities the size of Abbotsford, transit is actually a preferred alternative to driving.
It’s not just rail enthusiasts who want good transit – we all do and if we don’t then it’s our own fault we have a lousy system!
Andrew Ward