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LRT vs SkyTrain costs used by Vancouver Sun are misleading

  • Media Release

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[1]—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 $56-65 million per km [2][3][4][5].

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 $10 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.

Footnotes

  1. Technical Assessment of Operating Passenger Rail on the Interurban Corridor[↩]
  2. Expo 1994 infra: “Extension of SkyTrain to Whalley Town Centre by mid-1993 at a cost of $127 million” — Western Transit Notes p.43 — Pacific Rail News Magazine Issue 312, Nov 1989[↩]
  3. Expo 1994 rolling stock: “(Bombardier) won a $C47.84 million order for 20 Mark I SkyTrain cars for BC Transit’s Surrey extension” — Transit p.46 — Pacific Rail News Magazine Issue 364, Mar 1994[↩]
  4. Millennium Line: Capital cost of $1.057 billion for first 19.1km in 2003$ as noted in the financial statements of Rapid Transit 2000 Project Ltd. — 2003[↩]
  5. Aforementioned numbers adjusted to 2011$, giving: $55.7 million/km for Expo 1994; and $64.8 million/km for the Millennium Line[↩]
  6. Based on observation of LRT alternatives 1-4 — Surrey Rapid Transit Study Phase 1 Design Guide — May/June 2011[↩]

Pictured in header: Portland MAX light rail vehicle

SkyTrain for Surrey is a BC-based community organization that has advocated for the expansion of the Vancouver SkyTrain system, including our successful advocacy for the under-construction Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension.

Media Contact: Daryl Dela Cruz ​– Founder, SkyTrain for Surrey ・ Phone: +1 604 329 3529, [email protected]

LRT vs SkyTrain costs used by Vancouver Sun are misleading