Amtrak expansion could include new Surrey station
By Jeff Nagel, Black Press, Mar 11 2007
Amtrak passenger trains from Seattle could some day stop in Surrey
instead of Vancouver, U.S. studies suggest.
Moving the terminal from downtown’s Pacific Central Station east to a
“Greater Vancouver Terminal” beside Surrey’s Scott Road SkyTrain station
is one option that has been studied to achieve a potential major
increase in cross-border rail service.
The existing single daily Amtrak round trip to Vancouver is now planned
to increase to two daily by 2008, thanks to an agreement unveiled last
week between the province, Washington State and the BNSF Railway. B.C.
will contribute $4.5 million to help build a siding in Delta so trains
can pass.
But longer-range hopes to expand further to three or four daily Amtrak
trains depend on much costlier rail line upgrades – including an
estimated $675 million to replace the century-old rail bridge across the
Fraser River between Surrey and New Westminster.
Because the costs are so high to address congestion on the tracks into
Vancouver, studies commissioned by the Washington State Department of
Transportation conclude it may make sense to pull out of Vancouver and
establish a new Amtrak station in Surrey instead.
“At first glance, the potential has various attractive features,” says
an analysis of the Scott Road site in the 2003 Cascade Gateway Rail
Study.
Foremost would be the lower price tag – about $86 million to build the
station and carry out rail upgrades.
The Scott Road site would also offer easy access to SkyTrain, the study
says, allowing travellers to transfer and take the transit line to
downtown.
A map and aerial photo show the “possible station” just east of Scott
Road Station, north of 110 Avenue along 126 A Street.
But the study cautions many U.S. passengers who want to go to downtown
Vancouver won’t like having to transfer and take the 26-minute SkyTrain
ride, and some business may be lost.
However, Washington State’s draft long range plan for the Amtrak line
notes more Canadians may jump on board to visit the U.S. because the
Scott Road station would be more convenient for much of Greater
Vancouver “as the station would be more centrally located and more
accessible for a greater number of people.”
The plan, tabled last year, estimates moving to the Surrey terminal
would increase Amtrak’s ridership here by three to seven per cent.
It says the “surge in rail passengers converging on the area” could mesh
well with Surrey’s plans to revitalize the neighbourhood.
The long-term U.S. wish list calls for a high-speed rail bypass around
White Rock costing $370 million, along with another $110 million for
high-speed tracks continuing to the Fraser River. Matched with
high-speed tracks planned in Washington, the upgrades would cut Amtrak’s
Vancouver to Seattle travel time from nearly four hours now to just over
two and a half by 2023.
The Leader - newsroom@surreyleader.com
The Now - tzillich@thenownewspaper.com
The Province - provletters@png.canwest.com
The Vancouver Sun - sunletters@png.canwest.com