Priorities - Making It Happen

South Fraser OnTrax solutions are all about realistic priorities and restoring the Interurban sooner rather than later. While in the immediate short-term we would love to see the Interurban restored from Chilliwack to Surrey, there comes a time to prioritize in order to make this work.

As we study the old Interurban line and area density, we see a phased plan as the most do-able to us and for the people who have the power to restore the service.

Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said that the Interurban must be studied because “we don’t want to blow our brains out financially”. He was making reference to density and the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) in the South Fraser when making that statement. While the South Fraser region is the steward of the ALR for our province, we should not be penalized for it. At the same time, we must think like smart business people and recognize the validity of the minister’s statement.

Chilliwack densification is occurring, but not as rapidly as in Surrey and Langley. Abbotsford is gaining more density, but both Chilliwack and Abbotsford are outside of Translink. Restoring the Interurban to these two communities in possible though Abbotsford would need to negotiate with Translink and share some costs.

Also while connecting to Chilliwack is important, we believe that there is a stronger business case (due to current travel demand and density) for getting service running between Surrey and Abbotsford first.


Smart Phasing

South Fraser OnTrax proposes our Smart Phasing plan to our local communities and the Minister of Transportation to consider:

Phase I: Revival of the Interurban Line from Langley to Surrey

Phase II: Interurban linkage of Abbotsford and Langley

Phase III: Eventual Interurban connection from Chilliwack to Abbotsford


The Thoughts Behind the Plan

The Township of Langley has approved high-rise, mixed-use buildings along the 200th Street corridor and a 200th Street streetcar has been discussed.


As the Township connects various communities with light rail and the City of Langley makes a decision to link into the system, there will be increased demand and attraction for an eventual connection to Abbotsford and beyond.

The Langley to Surrey light rail project will cost significantly less than an immediate Chilliwack to Surrey project, allowing TransLink to acquire land and partner in the building of numerous transit oriented developments to support and grow the system.