SkyTrain to Newton must come first, ahead of SkyTrain to UBC, and begin construction within the next 4 years
- Media Release
-
- For immediate release — October 25, 2026
SURREY VOTERS HAVE SPOKEN — SKYTRAIN TO NEWTON MUST COME FIRST, AHEAD OF SKYTRAIN TO UBC.
Strong election mandates at both the local and provincial level make it clear that a SkyTrain extension to Newton must now be positioned as the region’s highest transit infrastructure priority—and must begin construction within the next 4 years.
It is also clear that a SkyTrain to Newton MUST come before a SkyTrain extension to UBC, if delivering both at the same time is not possible.
The incoming Conservative provincial government and Surrey municipal government must now answer the following questions:
- What steps will be taken to ensure that SkyTrain to Newton is fully funded, and that shovels are in the ground within the next 4 years?
- What steps will be taken to ensure that TransLink and the Regional Mayors Council comply with all directives to deliver SkyTrain to Newton as the region’s highest transit infrastructure priority, ahead of all other BRT and/or SkyTrain projects?
- What steps will be taken to ensure that the SkyTrain corridor (King George Boulevard from City Centre to Newton) cannot be reverted to an inferior BRT or LRT project?
The Case to build SkyTrain to Newton FIRST.
SkyTrain for Surrey previously analyzed two options to deliver this project: as an extension of existing SkyTrain, or as its own separate line.
A SkyTrain extension to Newton would span approximately 6 kilometres — less than half the length of the Surrey Langley SkyTrain (SLS) — and could also be delivered at a lower cost per kilometre than SLS by utilizing relevant infrastructure that is already there (such as the precast concrete facility in Campbell Heights building SLS guideway segments, and the OMC 5 facility located along SLS to store and maintain trains).
Because of these project characteristics, we estimate that an elevated SkyTrain to Newton would cost only 1/3 as much as the SkyTrain from Arbutus to UBC, which is a 7-kilometre project that will need to be built mostly underground in an expensive bored tunnel.[1]
For perspective: if the UBC SkyTrain extension were fully funded, a 33% boost to funding could also build SkyTrain to Newton.
Here are three reasons why building SkyTrain to Newton is an urgent regional priority:
- Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond and New Westminster (which currently have the majority of the region’s SkyTrain kilometres) have 4.4 kilometres of SkyTrain per 100,000 residents[2][3]. Surrey, White Rock, Langley City and Langley Township will still have only 2.7 kilometres of SkyTrain per 100,000 residents even with the completion of both the Surrey Langley SkyTrain and the City Centre-Newton line.[4][5]
- Newton Town Centre in Surrey has been at the centre of the fastest transit ridership growth in the entire region since 2019, on bus routes such as the #323 (1st place in the region with 38% growth); the #335 (4th place in the region with 21.6% growth); and on the #321 bus, which provides local service on the future SkyTrain corridor itself (5th place in the region with 21% growth).[6][7]
- The busiest segment of King George Boulevard between City Centre and Newton carries over 40,000 vehicles per day.[8] SkyTrain to Newton is estimated to take over 30,000 vehicles off the road—massively decongesting King George Boulevard and other north-south corridors.[9]
Alternative 1: Expo Line branch
More information:
Alternative 2: Standalone SkyTrain line
More information:
Footnotes
- Per-kilometre costs for bored tunnel rail rapid transit have increased significantly in Canada—recently exceeding $1 billion per kilometre for projects such as Montreal’s Metro Blue Line extension and Toronto’s Ontario Line.[↩]
- 67.6 kilometres total consisting of: the original Expo Line spanning 22.8 km; the Millennium Line Phase I (including the current Columbia to Production-Way University branch operating as the Expo Line) spanning 19.9 km; the Canada Line spanning 19.2 km; and the Broadway Subway spanning 5.7 km[↩]
- Population based on 1.53 million people as reported in Metro Vancouver Growth Projections – 2025 Update, for the year 2031 in the BURRARD PENINSULA sub-region + Richmond[↩]
- 27.9 kilometres total consisting of: the Expo Line from the New Westminster/Surrey border on the SkyBridge to King George Station spanning 5.9 km; the Surrey Langley SkyTrain spanning 16 km; and the future SkyTrain to Newton spanning 6 km[↩]
- Population based on 1.02 million people as reported in Metro Vancouver Growth Projections – 2025 Update, for the year 2031 in the SOUTH OF FRASER – EAST Sub-Region[↩]
- 2025 TransLink service performance review — See Managing the Transit Network for report and data links[↩]
- For the rankings we also refer to Movement YVR’s analysis of the TransLink 2025 TSPR data[↩]
- Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) data compiled by the City of Surrey — ArcGIS map[↩]
- TransLink/Mayors Council report, July 25, 2019 meeting — p.27-35[↩]
Concept render of future SkyTrain station at King George Boulevard and 88 Ave in Surrey (by SkyTrain for Surrey)
King George Boulevard SkyTrain - Advocacy Timeline
SkyTrain to Newton considered in Surrey Rapid Transit Study Alternatives Analysis (options RRT2, RRT3)
SkyTrain for Surrey is a BC-based community organization that has advocated for expanding the Vancouver SkyTrain system, including our successful advocacy for the under-construction Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension and the proposed SkyTrain expansion to Newton.
Media Contact: Daryl Dela Cruz – Founder, SkyTrain for Surrey ・ Phone: +1 604 329 3529, [email protected]
