Political Duplicity – The NDP Insults The Fraser Valley!

I just shake my head.

Premier Horgan’s Chief of Staff, ex Vision(less) Vancouver Councillor and notorious Broadway subway promoter is the last person to discuss “rail” transit for the Fraser Valley.

A West Coast Express commuter rail train with limited service will not work, nor will a prohibitively expensive rapid transit link.

Rail for the Valley had the answer over a decade ago with the Leewood Study and the “raison d’ètre” for this blog. The Leewood Study fell on deaf ears as the ‘SkyTrain mad‘ TransLink, abetted by the dishonest Vancouver Engineering Dept. sung sweet songs of subways in the ears of then Vision Vancouver Councillors, while firing those who disagreed.

Sadly, those tainted songs still resonate.

With the Master Agreement for passenger operation on the now CPR owned portion of the former BC Electric line through Langley to Cloverdale, a credible service could be operated from downtown Vancouver, within one year.

The estimated cost for an hourly service would be $800 million, but for about $1.5 billion, a deluxe three trains per hour service could be had – if, that is, the political will to make it happen.

Political will” is an oxymoron in today’s politic, as it should be “political won’t“.

The NDP do not have the political will to do what is right and continue to listen to the tainted sweet songs sung by the Mayor’s Council on Transit, and TransLink.

All those union jobs ya’ know.

The NDP, always snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, by listening to the chorus within the NDP bubble and not do what is needed. Those dreaming  of commuter trains or rapid transit are just not dealing with the real world; commuter trains would be unworkable, being only accessible by bus and rapid transit, at a cost in excess of $8 billion, unaffordable.

Mayor Braun, who is more and more looking like the CPR’s puppet, refuses to do what is affordable and dreams of trains that never will never come. The CPR, of course, do not want any sort of passenger service on their patch of track, which is covered by the Master Agreement to allow passenger service with all upgrades paid for by the CPR! Something that Mayor Braun is loath to discuss!

The Leewood Study, shows that a credible regional railway service using diesel multiple units can provide a service that could connect downtown Vancouver to North Delta/Surrey; Cloverdale; Langley Centre;  downtown Abbotsford; Sardis; and Chilliwack for about half the cost of a 5.8 km subway under Broadway.

All this is damage control by the NDP, who have done little for the Fraser Valley and continue to do as little as possible.

Mr. Meggs, Premier Horgan’s chief advisor does not want an affordable rail transit for the valley because it may derail plans for his pet $3 billion Vancouver, Broadway subway and the $4 billion extension to UBC. The Vision(less) Vancouver clique promised to their land developer and land speculator friends massive land developments along the route.

The NDP’s vague promises about a passenger rail service connecting the Fraser Valley to Vancouver are more than a insult, it is political duplicity.

A Karlsruhe TramTrain deep in the countryside – Affordable transit.

NDP promises commuter rail to the Fraser Valley, but timeline remains fuzzy

Tuesday’s throne speech declares HOV lanes and commuter rail coming to Fraser Valley

Commuter rail for the Fraser Valley is on the way, the provincial government declared in Tuesday’s throne speech, but it remains unclear if locals will have to wait years – or decades – to see such promises come to fruition.

The Throne Speech included a section on how the provincial government is working on a “long-term vision for transit and transportation in the Lower Mainland.”

The speech continued: “British Columbians can look forward to more options like rapid transit, HOV lanes and commuter rail out to the Fraser Valley, and high-speed rail connections with our neighbours to the south.”

Pressed for more details, the province’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure sent an emailed statement to The News that primarily focused on planning work currently underway by TransLink and the province.

“TransLink, as part of a long-term regional transportation strategy (Transport 2050), is exploring a range of options to improve the movement of people and goods across the region,” the province’s email said. “Through both direct discussions and as part of TransLink’s Transport 2050 consultations, we are also engaging leaders from Fraser Valley communities and BC Transit in building a longer-term plan for transit.”

The province also pointed to work being done to build HOV lanes in Langley from 202nd to 264th Street. The statement doesn’t give an indication as to whether commuter rail to Abbotsford is a short- or long-term priority. But Mayor Henry Braun said he hopes to see the province set aside funding for such projects soon.

“That caught my eye as well,” Braun told The News. “We are, as a city, encouraged by the direction that has been indicated in the Throne Speech, and I’m very much looking forward to the budget next week to see how the province intends to action those directions.”

Last month, Braun called for the province to borrow billions of dollars to build a rail link between Abbotsford and the rest of the Lower Mainland. Braun has also repeatedly called on the province to widen Highway 1 to address the increasingly frequent traffic jams between Abbotsford and Langley.


Geoff Meggs, the chief of staff to Premier John Horgan, has promised to meet with Braun to specifically discuss a possible rapid transit link in the Fraser Valley.

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