LRT vs SkyTrain costs used by Vancouver Sun are misleading
- Media Release
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- For immediate release — November 11, 2011
In an article posted on November 10, Vancouver Sun writer Kelly Sinoski quoted that light rail would cost “$27 million per kilometre”—a value repetitively used by Van Sun and other newspapers—while SkyTrain would cost between $127 and $233 million per kilometre.
Both values are highly misleading.
For starters, “$27 million per km” likely comes from TransLink’s 2006 technical assessment for operating light rail transit on the BCER Interurban Corridor [43]—an empty pre-existing right of way—whereas Surrey proposes to construct light rail on busy and congested city streets.
Using costs per km for the Evergreen and UBC/Broadway SkyTrain lines to describe SkyTrain expansion in Surrey is also highly misleading, as both of these proposed lines contain many special provisions that significantly inflate capital costs. For example, both lines will involve extensive underground sections, which are significantly more expensive to construct. None of this will be required for SkyTrain expansion in Surrey, where lines are proposed to be built utilizing either elevated or at-grade construction.
What would SkyTrain and LRT actually cost?
Both the original Millennium Line (2002) and the Scott Road to King George SkyTrain extension in Surrey (1994) were implemented at much lower costs of approximately $65-67 million per km (2011 dollars, adjusted for inflation) [9][44][45][46].
For a light rail transit line on Surrey city streets, we estimate it would cost $55 million per km or more, based on TransLink’s newer study [6].
An extra $12 million per km to extend the SkyTrain would be a very small price to pay over an inferior street-running light rail line, which will disrupt communities and transportation within them while providing little service improvement. In addition, the additional capital cost for SkyTrain could be recovered in due time, due to the lower operating costs for SkyTrain’s driverless, fully-automated system.
About SkyTrain for Surrey
SkyTrain for Surrey is the community organization that advocated for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension. From our beginnings as a petition calling for the scrapping of a street-level LRT proposal, we grew into a community of like-minded folk, taking on various projects such as making SkyTrain an election issue in 2018 as a registered advocacy group. SkyTrain for Surrey continues to call for high-quality transit infrastructure projects serving Surrey, Delta and the Langleys.
Media Contact:
Daryl Dela Cruz – Founder, SkyTrain for Surrey
Phone: +1 604 329 3529, [email protected]