From The South Fraser Community Rail Society
South Fraser Community Rail Society is one of many groups, along with Rail for the Valley, working for a reinstatement of passenger rail service to Chilliwack.
South Fraser Community Rail Society
“Hydrogen Link Passenger Rail, Scott Rd. SkyTrain to Chilliwack” #connect the valley
There is the reality…. a Better Choice!
Widening Highway #1 will happen over time….
But it IS NOT the solution! Here is Why…. Unless you want to wait for 30 years!
Mayors, Councillors, MLAs and MPs past and present have promised Highway widening suggesting it is the priority and it will happen? This is a totally disingenuous argument! Two current examples on the realities of widening; first 202nd to 216th and second the just added 216th to 264th phase. All of the discussion has been about adding 1 HOV lane each way which is what my following calculation is about! IF it were about two lanes you could double the time and cost required.
The following is the time reality in terms of financial, planning and construction phases. These are real numbers and not a politicians dream! There promises are impossible! While we will continue to campaign for widening and it will happen over time, it will take a few decades and when finished we will be worse off than we are today unless we initiate an affordable and effective public transit option like Passenger Rail. Express Buses on Highway #1 do not work, they get tied up in the same congestion we are complaining about and trying to solve!
- 202nd to 264th = 13 kms at a total cost of $294 million (cost shared, Prov., Feds and TOL) started in 2017 due to finish in 2025 (8 Years).
- Distance, Langley to Chilliwack is 56 kms @ 3.25 kms per 2 years equates to finishing an HOV lane each way by 2051, over 30 years from now!
- The exponential increase in growth and traffic will out strip the benefits of widening by three times than what it is today! Based on projected growth, in 8 years, by 2025 (finish of latest project above) traffic will be worse than it is today!
- The above suggests that all Provincial, Federal, and Municipal budgets align annually, planning started now and did not stop until finished. Estimated total cost of widening in 2018 dollars – over $1.2 Billion! It will not solve our problem!
NOTE: The Township of Langley contributed $41,433,000 on the two projects above, is a precedent now set for Provincial/Federal projects? What will it cost Abbotsford and Chilliwack? Are they prepared to commit those dollars?
Do you want to continue to put up with this?
OR the option of State-of-the-Art Hydrail Service!
Hydrail Passenger Rail…. Some Facts!
…. 1,000 Kms per full tank of fuel!
…. 15 minutes to refill a tank!
…. Up to 300 passengers per train!
…. A Green Alternative to heavy polluting diesel, completely emission free!
…. Perfect case, showing leadership with CleanBC; provincial legislation!
…. Incredibly quiet service!
…. Estimate 90 minutes travel time, Pattullo Bridge to Chilliwack or less!
…. Estimate 30 minutes travel time, Langley City to Pattullo Bridge or less!
…. Estimate 30 minutes travel time, City of Abbotsford to Langley City or less!
…. Estimate 45 minutes travel time, City of Abbotsford to Newton or less!
…. 99 KM Rail Corridor, protected for passenger use, at no cost for use!
…. Serves 16 Communities and 14 Post Secondary Institutions!
…. Serves Fraser Valley First Nations, Tourism and Agi-Tourism!
The Interurban Passenger Corridor….
Despite the fact Hydrail on the Interurban is a perfect environmentally friendly CleanBC solution….
There is NO other reasonable and affordable option that provides access to affordable housing and supports an improved quality of family life!
Very good article.The Rail Corridor could be changed at few places. Not all trains need to travel from Surrey to Chilliwack. Service to Abby Airport is needed. MOTI is to blame as most politicians seem to trust government staff. Need all affected cities to get together and agree on every detail prior to asking peov govt to have an independent study with projections for 5,10,15,20,25 years. All these Cities have over 100 staff involved in Transportation and they should co-operate to come up with a reasonable plan.