The Surrey Light Rail system was a planned network in
Surrey, British Columbia
Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...
containing one
light rail line radiating from the
SkyTrain station and transit hub. First proposed in 2012 by Surrey mayor
Dianne Watts
Dianne Lynn Watts (born October 30, 1959) is a former politician in British Columbia, Canada. She won her first federal election campaign in October 2015 to become a federal Member of Parliament for South Surrey—White Rock. In 2017 she resigne ...
, construction on the project was planned to start in 2019 with an opening date set for 2024.
At the inauguration of the new Surrey City Council on November 5, 2018, and after a change of municipal leadership, the newly installed council unanimously voted to "indefinitely suspend" the project in favour of an extension of the SkyTrain Expo Line to Langley Centre.
Timeline
This project—among others, including the extension of
the Millennium Line west to Arbutus—was included as one of the initiatives in need of funding that was proposed to be raised by the imposition of a regional sales tax which was put forward for voter approval in a
2015 plebiscite. The electorate voted against the tax increase to fund regional projects and provide a long term sustainable funding model;
however, Surrey Mayor
Linda Hepner
Linda Hepner (born May 16, 1949) is a Canadian politician, who served as the 36th mayor of Surrey, British Columbia as of the 2014 municipal election.
Mayor of Surrey (2014–2018)
After joining the city staff as a manager in 1985, Hepner ...
said, after the sales tax was voted down, that the city still planned to build the light rail project as it was the main component in her election campaign.
The Surrey–Newton–Guildford Line was expected to be in service by 2024 while the Surrey–Langley Line on the Fraser Highway would be completed at a later date.
A report outlining the economic benefits of the project was produced by a consulting firm in May 2015.
[ ]
In 2017, the federal government budget included funding contributions to this project.
Prior to the provincial election in 2017, the BC Liberals confirmed they would match the federal contribution if they were re-elected.
On March 16, 2018, the provincial government approved the construction of this project. Construction was slated to begin in 2019 and is expected to be completed by 2024.
The LRT line will run from Guildford through Surrey Central and terminate in Newton with 11 new stops.
On September 4, 2018, during a visit to Surrey,
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
reiterated the Federal government's financial commitment to helping to build the route.
[ On November 5, 2018, during newly elected Mayor ]Doug McCallum
Doug McCallum (born April 19, 1944) is a Canadian politician who was mayor of Surrey, British Columbia, from 1996 to 2005 and from 2018 to 2022. McCallum was first elected to a seat on Surrey City Council in 1993.(2004).Mayor Doug McCallum, Surr ...
's first council meeting, the council voted unanimously to cancel the LRT line in favour of extending the existing SkyTrain line to Langley. The plan was supported by the regional Mayors' Council on November 15.
LRT network
Surrey–Newton–Guildford Line
Phase 1 of the Surrey LRT was the Surrey–Newton–Guildford Line which was to replace the 96 B-Line
The R1 King George Blvd is an express bus service with bus rapid transit elements in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Part of TransLink's RapidBus network, it travels along King George Boulevard and 104 Avenue in Surrey and connect ...
express bus service once completed and will connect Surrey City Centre with Newton Town Centre
Newton is a town centre of the city in Surrey, British Columbia. It is the location for the previous Surrey City Hall and Courthouse, a local Surrey Public Library branch, and a Kwantlen Polytechnic University campus. The studios of radio stati ...
via King George Boulevard
King George Boulevard (formerly known as King George Highway) is a major arterial road in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. The route begins at Highway 99, north of the Peace Arch Border Crossing with the United States, and runs generally no ...
and Guildford Town Centre
Guildford Town Centre is a shopping mall located in Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. It opened on November 8, 1966, and is owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge, a Quebec-based real estate company. It is the largest mall in the Low ...
via 104 Avenue.
Proposed stops
* 152 Street Guildford Town Centre: serves the Guildford Mall and connects to the existing transit exchange
* 148 Street
* 144 Street
* 140 Street
* City Parkway: connects to the SkyTrain at Surrey Central station
Surrey Central is an elevated station on the Expo Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located in the Whalley / City Centre district of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, just east of the North Surrey Recrea ...
, Simon Fraser University, the planned Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Central City Shopping Centre and Surrey City Hall
* King George: connects to the SkyTrain at King George station
King George is an elevated station on the Expo Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located in the south end of the Surrey City Centre district of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, and is one of the outboun ...
and the King George Hub
King George Hub is a mixed-use development with retail, office and residential high-rises in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, located at the northeast corner of King George Boulevard and Fraser Highway in the Surrey City Centre district. Devel ...
development complex
* 96 Avenue: serves Surrey Memorial Hospital, the wider hospital district and the Canada Revenue site
* 88 Avenue: serves Bear Creek Park and the Surrey Arts Centre
* 80 Avenue
* 76 Avenue
* 72 Avenue: serves Newton Town Centre, connecting to a new planned transit exchange and higher-density developments
Proposed expansion
A Surrey–Langley Line was proposed as a future phase after the completion of the Surrey–Newton–Guildford Line and was expected to travel on Fraser Highway
Fraser Highway is a major arterial road in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Connecting the cities of Surrey and Abbotsford, the highway formerly constituted a major portion of British Columbia Highway 1A until the latter was decommissi ...
and connecting Surrey City Centre, Fleetwood Town Centre
Fleetwood is a town centre of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada with a population of 62,735 as of 2016.
Fleetwood is bounded by 76 Avenue in the south (above Cloverdale) to 96 Avenue in the north and from 144 Street in the west beside Newton T ...
and Langley Langley may refer to:
People
* Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name
* Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer
* Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
with expected travel time of 24.5 minutes.
Reaction
The Surrey LRT project had been criticized by some local residents, and an advocacy group, who have raised concerns suggesting a lack of travel time improvement, large annual operating deficits, vulnerability to accidents and a lower comparative business case benefits documented in the dated 2012 TransLink Translink (or TransLink) may refer to:
* TransLink (British Columbia), the public transport operator in Vancouver, Canada
* Translink (Northern Ireland)
Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a ...
joint analysis.
Kevin Desmond, CEO of TransLink, has indicated that SkyTrain along the second phase of the project (Fraser Highway Line) is also a possibility instead of LRT; however, the Mayor of Surrey claimed that a SkyTrain solution along Fraser Highway would cost $950 million more than LRT.
In July 2018, a poll sponsored by municipal party Safe Surrey Coalition
The Safe Surrey Coalition is a civic political party in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
Members
* Doug McCallum — ''Former mayor of Surrey''
* Doug Elford
* Mandeep Nagra
Former Members
* Bableen Rana
* Allison Patton
* Laurie Guerra ...
, headed by Doug McCallum
Doug McCallum (born April 19, 1944) is a Canadian politician who was mayor of Surrey, British Columbia, from 1996 to 2005 and from 2018 to 2022. McCallum was first elected to a seat on Surrey City Council in 1993.(2004).Mayor Doug McCallum, Surr ...
—then a mayoral candidate in the 2018 Surrey municipal election who was campaigning against LRT—indicated 85% of Surrey residents were opposed to the LRT project.
See also
* Light rail in Canada
Urban rail transit in Canada encompasses a broad range of rail mass transit systems, including commuter rail, rapid transit, light rail, and streetcar systems.
Terminology
* "Commuter rail" refers to urban passenger train service between a ...
* SkyTrain
References
External links
Surrey Light Rail
Surrey LRT Project
– City of Surrey
Surrey–Newton–Guildford LRT Project
– TransLink
SkyTrain for Surrey
{{Canadian passenger rail systems
TransLink (British Columbia)
Transport in Surrey, British Columbia
Rapid transit in Canada
Proposed railway lines in Canada
Cancelled rapid transit lines and systems
Cancelled projects in Canada