MEDIA RELEASE
SkyTrain remains the best and only feasible choice for the Surrey-Langley Line
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – July 22, 2018 – Surrey, BC
SkyTrain for Surrey is a grassroots campaign that has helped establish strong support for a SkyTrain extension on Fraser Highway. Today we are issuing the following points in response to the recent TransLink reveal of the construction costs for light rail and SkyTrain alternatives, TransLink’s decision in favour of LRT on Fraser Highway, and other recent statements related to the ongoing ‘LRT vs SkyTrain’ debate.
- An Expo Line extension offers travel times of 22 minutes from King George Station to Langley, with a seamless connection to existing SkyTrain. Light Rail would take up to 35 minutes to cover the same distance, with a transfer required to connect to the Expo Line. The Light Rail alternative’s travel times, to all destinations, are significantly worse, reducing the potential transit ridership.
- A light rail line would save riders only a few minutes compared to the proposed Fraser Highway B-Line, despite having 4 less stops between King George Station and Langley.
- For reference, Fraser Highway B-Line service is expected to have travel times of 40 minutes between Surrey Central and Langley Centre. A Surrey-Langley Line LRT would have travel times of up to 35 minutes between King George Station and Langley Centre, with an additional 2-3 minutes required to connect from Surrey Central Station.
- Extending SkyTrain is the only option that will significantly reduce travel times.
- The LRT estimate released by TransLink offers significantly less capacity than the SkyTrain alternative. According to the estimate, LRT platforms will be 40m long, only half (20m) of which will be weather-protected by a canopy. This compares to 82.5m long, fully canopied platforms for the SkyTrain alternative, which will be capable of handling 5-car trains.
- There is no indication as to whether or not the LRT platforms may be extended beyond 40m, or what is the maximum frequency that LRT trains may safely operate at.
- Despite saying that ridership will be ‘too low’ to support 5-car trains running east of Fleetwood, TransLink admits (in their Sept. 2017 memo) that higher ridership revenue will offset the higher operating costs of running 5-car trains. Assuming this allows the extension to fully recover its operating costs, Expo: Langley will be sustainable to operate even if trains are under-utilized in the first 20 years of operations.
- Ridership numbers referenced in the Sept. 2017 memo are estimates for year 2045, which is only year 18 of operations. Rapid transit will play a role in increasing transit use and accommodating demand in our region for the next 50-100 years.
- We strongly believe that the light rail alternative is under-built, and that humongous expenses to upgrade infrastructure (i.e. adding grade-separation, improving capacity) will be incurred in the future if Light Rail technology is selected for the Surrey-Langley Line.
SEE ALSO:
Transparency lacking in decision to favour LRT technology on Fraser Highway
About SkyTrain for Surrey
SkyTrain for Surrey is the community organization that advocated for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension, and continues to push for high-quality rapid transit projects in Surrey and Langley. We began as a petition calling for the scrapping of a street-level LRT proposal, which eventually amassed more than 6,000 signatures, and later contributed to making SkyTrain an election issue as a registered third-party advertiser. SkyTrain for Surrey continues to call for high-quality projects that offer a positive return-on-investment and recognize the rapidly increasing demand for transit.
Media Contact:
Daryl Dela Cruz – Founder, SkyTrain for Surrey
Phone: +1 604 329 3529, [email protected]