Study finds LRT costs 21–29% more than SkyTrain extension to Langley
- Debunking Myths
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- April 24, 2013
The City of Surrey has repeatedly claimed, most recently on its current Rapid Transit Now webpage, that building three Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines would cost less than extending SkyTrain to Langley. That claim is incorrect and appears to rely on outdated or misinterpreted figures.
LRT costs are much higher when accounting for operating costs + fare revenue
The Surrey Rapid Transit Study[1] compares a three-line LRT option (LRT-1) with a SkyTrain extension option (RRT-1). On an assumed year-of-expenditure basis (meaning the projected completion year of each project), the study estimates LRT-1 at $2.18 billion versus RRT-1 at $1.8 billion, meaning that the three LRT lines are about 21% costlier than the SkyTrain alternative.
When the analysis uses net present value (NPV)—which factors in both capital and operating costs and offsets fare revenue—LRT1’s capital NPV is $1.63 billion versus RRT1’s $1.26 billion, so the total net present cost of the LRT option is roughly 29.3% higher than the SkyTrain extension.
That NPV result places the three-line LRT option on par with a SkyTrain-to-Langley extension when combined with bus rapid transit on the other corridors, rather than as a lower-cost alternative.
LRT costs are even higher when considering the benefits case
However, Light Rail costs considerably more than SkyTrain—even more than previously stated—when the net present value of future benefits (including measurable transportation benefits and greenhouse gas GHG emission reductions) is added to the comparison.
Because LRT operates at slower speeds in the study’s scenarios, it produces less travel-time benefit, lower ridership, fewer new transit trips, and smaller GHG reductions than SkyTrain. As a result, LRT1’s NPV of benefits does not outweigh its costs: the study reports a negative total NPV of –$510 million for LRT1, while RRT1 shows a positive total NPV of $690 million—a stark contrast that makes LRT1 comparatively less cost-effective by a wide margin.
Is LRT actually cheaper than SkyTrain over the long term?
Surrey’s long-standing promotion of LRT—first championed publicly by Mayor Dianne Watts in 2011 and 2012—has rested largely on the claim that LRT would be cheaper. However, the Surrey Rapid Transit Study’s numbers contradict that claim, and the city has not published a detailed, statistical case demonstrating that three LRT lines would be a better or less expensive choice than a SkyTrain extension to Langley.
The study by IBI Group and TransLink remains the primary technical source for these comparative cost and benefit figures.
Footnotes
Pictured in header: SkyTrain and Central City tower
Debunking Myths
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]
