Malaysia-China SkyTrain Deal Ends Vancouver’s Biggest Transit Lie
- Media Release
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- For immediate release — January 19, 2026
Vancouver’s biggest transit lie just met its end… in Kuala Lumpur. For thirty years, a single fabrication was used to block critical SkyTrain infrastructure and stall our region’s progress. Today, that lie has been buried by the signing of an RM1 billion international contract.
Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, operator of the Kelana Jaya Line—a fully driverless linear‑induction‑motor (LIM) system identical to our Expo and Millennium Lines—officially awarded its order for 26 new SkyTrain‑compatible trainsets to China’s CRRC. After a fierce competitive tender, CRRC—which had already manufactured LIM-powered trains for several subway lines in Guangzhou and in Beijing—outperformed Alstom (the current builder of SkyTrain’s Mark V fleet) on both manufacturing capacity and cost. [1][2][3]
Beginning in September 2028, Chinese-built LIM trains will operate alongside the existing Mark II and Mark III-derived trains built by Bombardier (now part of Alstom). This is no longer a theoretical debate; it is the first real-world demonstration of SkyTrain-compatible vehicles from two competing global manufacturers running in daily service on the same system.
Decades of fabricated claims paralyzed our region's transit expansion
For Metro Vancouver, this development incinerates a narrative that has crippled regional transit expansion over thirty years. For decades, groups such as Rail for the Valley, South Fraser Community Rail, and voices like Patrick Condon have saturated public discourse with the claim that SkyTrain was “proprietary,” “obsolete,” or a “Bombardier monopoly.” We now have absolute confirmation that these claims were fabrications.
The consequences of this misinformation weren’t just academic—they were astronomical. These false claims were the primary weapons used to:
- Strangle the Broadway Subway: originally slated for completion in the mid-2000s, this critical regional artery was delayed by 20 years.
- Sabotage Surrey’s rapid transit, pushing for an inferior surface LRT that would have offered lower capacity and slower speeds.
- Distort public trust, forcing planners to defend proven technology against recycled myths — again and again and again.
As early as 2012, SkyTrain advocates warned that these lies would distort regional planning for an entire generation. Today, that warning stands as a historical fact. We didn’t just predict this outcome—we documented its inevitability while others chose to ignore the evidence.
We deserve a better, more transit-connected region.
This turning point arrives at a critical juncture, with the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain under construction and the UBC extension in development. These projects will define the region’s mobility, land-use patterns, and climate outcomes for the following century.
For advocates, planners, and policymakers, the lesson is clear: the debate must now shift from questioning the legitimacy of SkyTrain’s technology to focusing on how best to expand it. Our region deserves better than recycled myths and manufactured doubt. It deserves planning rooted in evidence, transparency, and a commitment to delivering the best possible transit system for future generations.
SkyTrain for Surrey calls on all stakeholders to recognize this moment as a definitive turning point. The misinformation era is over. The facts are clear. SkyTrain is not proprietary, not obsolete, and not tied to a single manufacturer—and it never was.
Sources (Cited)
Prasarana awards CRRC the contract for 26 new trainsets (thesun.my) — Jan 7, 2026
CRRC receives order from Malaysia for 26 trains for Kelana Jaya LRT (Chinese — Blue Track Rail via QQ News) — Jan 8, 2026
CRRC ZELC consortium leads in RM1.1 bil Kelana Jaya LRT line coach contract (The Edge Malaysia) — Nov 3, 2025
Pictured in header: A four-car light metro train on Malaysia’s Johor-Bahru RTS Link system, manufactured by CRRC. This will be similar to the upcoming replacement trains for Kuala Lumpur’s Kelana Jaya Line, except the ones in Kuala Lumpur will be powered by linear induction motors like on our SkyTrain.
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]