In 1910, we had 18,000 people in the Fraser Valley, and we had Interurban passenger rail service all the way from Chilliwack to Vancouver. In the 1950s, we had 80,000 people, but the Interurban was shut down because people were driving cars instead. Today, the Fraser Valley has more than 10 times the population (around 1 million), and traffic headaches youai??i??d never dream about in the 1950s.

And if we do reach some magical population number (that is never specified by critics) in 20 years anyway, why not prepare for it today?

2. We donai??i??t have the density. We donai??i??t have the density for expensive Skytrain, but we donai??i??t need Skytrain. We need regular trains like we used to have, and we have plenty of density for that.

All around the world, light rail is being built in regions with comparable or lower density. We donai??i??t even need to look to Europe ai??i?? the spread-out city of Calgary has the C-Train, carrying 250,000 passengers a day.

3. Laying track is just too expensive. Ai??Think about this. There are tracks everywhere. All across Canada. We could afford to build those thousands of miles of track when we were relatively just a few people, but now itai??i??s too expensive to build a bit more track in order to connect the people of the Fraser Valley? This idea ai??i?? that with all our population and wealth of today we canai??i??t afford to build a few kilometres of new track ai??i?? is laughable.

When politicians say laying track is too expensive, it just means they want to spend our money on something else.

But in fact, WE ALREADY HAVE TRACKS just waiting to be used. The old Interurban tracks could be upgraded for passenger service at low cost. All totalled, according to a comprehensive independent analysis by a respected firm with an expertise in light rail, it would cost just under $500 million for a Chilliwack-Surrey diesel service running every 20-30 minutes connecting to Skytrain, or under $1 billion for an electrified service running from downtown Vancouver to Rosedale, 12km past Chilliwack. These amounts include stations, trains and everything else. It sounds like a lot of money, but compare this to the $2.4 billion that was spent on Vancouverai??i??s 19km Canada Line, the $1.4 billion pricetag for the Evergreen Line Skytrain extension to Coquitlam, $2.8 billion for a planned 12 km Skytrain extension to UBC, and the $7 billion and rising pricetag of the Gateway highway-expansion projects. Why not spend a bit of money on rail transportation in theAi??Fraser ValleyAi??for a change?

4. The geography of the Interurban line makes it too slow and impractical to use. Ai??Some sections of the Interurban track have a slight grade to them. This makes some politicians and bureaucrats claim that trains running uphill on them would be too slow, only travelling at 50 km/hr. Itai??i??s completely bogus. Once the track is upgraded, we can expect speeds of 80-100 km/hr in areas where the density of stations is not too high.

From its terminus in downtown Chilliwack, the Interurban track runs through Sardis, Yarrow, down to Sumas and up past UFV to Abbotsford. From there, it runs westward past Trinity Western University, through Langley, Cloverdale and Surrey, where it could connect to the existing Scott Road Skytrain Station. At the Fraser River, it joins other railways to cross the New Westminster rail bridge, where there are multiple possible routes into Vancouver. The Interurban track is walking distance from ALL of our South of Fraser colleges and universities, most commercial centres, and a short shuttle ride from the Abbotsford Airport.

Click here for a map.

5. The Interurban, and trains in general, are slower than cars. Ai??Itai??i??sAi??NOTAi??generally true that trains are slower than cars. The West Coast Express, for example, travels at 110 km/hr and takes 73 minutes to get from Mission to downtown Vancouver ai??i?? easily faster than a car, and ridiculously faster than a car stuck in traffic.

An end-to-end South of Fraser Interurban train trip would take a total of 90 minutes from downtown Chilliwack to Scott Rd. Skytrain Station in Surrey, independent of road traffic, automobile accidents or inclement weather.

With each year that passes, road congestion in the Fraser Valley keeps getting worse, due to a rapidly growing population. A few years ago, assuming no traffic delays and good weather, a trip by car to most places in the valley would have been quicker than a trip by train. Today this is often no longer the case: Today, commuters need to anticipate delays when planning their trips, and even with predictable traffic the time it takes for a simple trip from Point A to Point B in the Fraser Valley is taking longer and longer. Highway 1 congestion as far east as Abbotsford or even Chilliwack is now commonplace, and with the Fraser Valley’s booming population the situation is only going to get worse.

The train ride would also be much more relaxing than driving in stop-and-go traffic, you would actuallyAi??enjoyAi??the trip, and with today’s WiFi technology you would have the option of staying connected and getting things done.

Taking the train will not be the best solution for every trip in the Fraser Valley. But, with this option, an alternative will be provided for many travellers, thereby also reducing the congestion on the roads for the rest of us. In the future, with a rail line already in place, the network could readily be expanded, including a connecting line serving longer-distance commuters from the eastern Valley, such as an extended West Coast Express.

6. Rail services like the West Coast Express are heavily subsidized. Ai??Not true at all. The West Coast Express service would actually be profitable if it were not for the expensive lease fee that has to be paid to CP for the use of their track. Unlike roads, trains can make money.

And unlike the West Coast Express, the Interurban right-of-way south of the Fraser River is owned by the government, as well as the rights to run passenger rail on the track. No expensive lease fees here. The Interurban would serve a population approaching 3 times that of the West Coast Express, and with no lease fee there is little doubt the service would quickly turn an operating profit.

Light Rail systems are one of the most cost effective systems in the world and one of the few modes of public transportation that can pay for themselves. Highways and roads on the other hand cost BC taxpayers billions. The Provincial Transit Plan calls for expenditures of $1.6 billion on buses alone over the next few years. Traffic congestion also has tremendous hidden costs: economic costs, health costs, and costs in terms of environmental pollution.

Ultimately, all of the Provinceai??i??s current transportation proposals for the Fraser Valley will only serve to increase the traffic on our roads. Reducing road traffic reduces all of these costs. Itai??i??s estimated that the West Coast Express service is equivalent to taking 4,300 cars off the road and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 21,502 tonnes a day.

7. Trains would create bedroom communities. Ai??The argument REALLY is: in order to keep outlying communities from becoming bedroom communities, the powers that be must artificially restrict the mobility of their citizens by denying us the right to travel in a relaxing, environmentally friendly way.

Itai??i??s backward thinking, an iron curtain mentality. And itai??i??s wrong.

The train goes both ways. Just as good ai???railai??? transit makes it attractive to live in outlying communities, it would also be a sure inducement for businesses wishing to relocate from the higher-taxed and congested Vancouver region.

Forget about bedroom communities. How about polluted communities? Increased smog, air quality alerts, growing levels of asthma and lung disease resulting from more and more vehicles on the road creating greater traffic congestion, emissions wafting eastward? Thatai??i??s what weai??i??re looking at in the eastern Valley without rail.

Passenger rail will help clean up the air we breathe!

8. Weai??i??re not a train culture. We wouldnai??i??t get the ridership. Ai??One second, one politician will claim rail will create bedroom communities. Then, another will claim that we wouldnai??i??t get the ridership because weai??i??re not a train culture.

Which is it, guys? These are just excuses for the status quo ai??i?? the easiest answer is always inaction. Opponents have been trying to fool the public into believing that ridership might actually be an issue, simply because they would rather spend money elsewhere.

Light Rail systems around the world are built to attract ridership. These systems are most cost-effective when they are built in areas with less density, before heavy urban development takes place, such as in the case of the Fraser Valley. Failure to build in advance of density results in astronomical construction costs. Recent examples are the Canada Line, costing over $100 million per km, and the planned Evergreen Line, which will cost over $120 million per km. That trend of building late instead of early has cost BC taxpayers billions of dollars.

Led by the City of Surrey, the Fraser Valley is projected to pass Vancouver in population within the next 10 years. This is why it is imperative that this system be built immediately.

Anyone who uses the Skytrain or the West Coast Express knows that we are as much of a train culture as anywhere in the world, and if we are less so south of the Fraser, it is only because we have no trains.

Letai??i??s make it happen.