The capital cost to build

Surrey LRT is now

$2.44 billion
According to the Mayors Councils
regional transportation vision, the total
12-year capital cost to build at-grade
Light Rail Transit (LRT) on 104 Ave,
Fraser Hwy. and King George Blvd. has
increased to over $2.4 billion.
See: Regional
Transportation
Investments a
Vision for Metro
Vancouver:
Appendices
Page A-63
mayorscouncil.ca
For the same price,
we could extend
SkyTrain
to LangleyAND Newton
Capital cost + operating costs
to year 30 (2045)
Light Rail Transit Extend SkyTrain
$3.04 billion $3.07 billion
Calculation methodology: See Comparison details slide
And generate
2.5x
the transportation and
monetary benefits.
Light Rail
Transit
Extend SkyTrain
to Langley + Newton
The SkyTrain
difference
Travel Time: Surrey City Centre to Langley
Surrey City Centre to Newton
29 minutes
15 minutes
22 minutes
8 minutes
Daily ridership (rail transit system only) 152,000 196,000
+29%
Daily ridership (All: 104 Ave, Fraser Hwy, KGB) 166,000 222,000
+34%
New regional daily transit trips 12,000 28,500
2.4x
Passenger capacity (pphpd): Service
Theoretical
4,800
10,000
8,500
26,000
Annual VKT reduction to 2041 (millions) 1,300 2,800
Over 2x
Capital Cost (Undiscounted, $2015) $2.44 billion $2.55 billion
Average cost per added rider (annualized) $35 $17.70 2x less
Annual operating cost in 2026 $27 million $23.75 million 13% less
Benefit-Cost Ratio 0.56:1 1.47:1
Life-cycle cost return (NPV + fare revenue) $1.25 billion $3.118 billion 2.5x
Travel time benefits (person-hours saved) 5.4 million 17.6 million
3x
Including:
Over 3x the travel time savings benefits
Over 2x as many new transit trips
Over 2x reduction in driving
Lower cost per added rider
Faster, more frequent service
Superior on-time reliability
More capacity for future growth
Data above: Extrapolated from Surrey Rapid Transit Study, final evaluation summary. As a Langley + Newton SkyTrain extension was not
officially a study option, the numbers here were generated through the through extrapolation of RRT1, BRT1 and RRT2 numbers.
Comparison details
PROPOSED LRT NETWORK TOTAL COSTS
$3.04 BIILLION
Based on:
2021 opening date on KGB+104; 2026 opening date on Fraser Hwy
as per: Regional Transportation Vision
Undiscounted Capital cost - $2.44 billion ($2015)
Updated 12-year investment total
For reference, see: Regional Transportation Vision page A-63
Operating cost Between $8.6 million and $27 million annually.
Tabulated as follows:
- 5 years (2021-2026) at $8.6 million (LRT on KGB+104 operating only)
- 19 years (2026-2045) at SRTS 2021 levels or $27 million (LRT on KGB+104+Fraser)
For reference, see: Surrey Rapid Transit Study Final Evaluation Report page 76
Shown costs in $2010 (Study)
Operating cost 2021-2045 total: $600.1 million ($2015)
Service plan: Single 32-40m trams operate every 5 minutes peak
potential increase to 3 minutes peak and dual trams
See: Surrey Rapid Transit Study Final Evaluation Report App. 2B, page 32
On-Street Alignment has travel time of 29 minutes to Langley and 15
minutes to Newton from Surrey Central
SKYTRAIN: NEWTON + LANGLEY COSTS
$3.07 BILLION
Based on:
2021 opening date to Newton; 2026 opening date to Langley
as per: Regional Transportation Vision
Undiscounted Capital cost - $2.55 billion ($2015)
For reference, see: Surrey Rapid Transit Study Final Evaluation Report page 73
Tabulated as: Alternative RRT1 + RRT3, with adjustments for RRT3 vehicle & OMC costs to
reflect initial service limitations of two branch extension. Cost in $2010 adjusted for inflation.
Operating cost Between $9 million and $23.75 million annually
Tabulated as follows:
- 5 years (2021-2026) at $9 million (Extension to Newton operating)
- 19 years (2026-2045) at SRTS 2021 levels or $23.75 million (Extension to Langley operating)
For reference, see: Surrey Rapid Transit Study Final Evaluation Report page 76
Shown costs in $2010 (Study)
Operating cost 2021-2045 total: $518.61 million ($2015)
Service plan: 5-car trains operate on average every 4.6 minutes peak
potential increase to 2.3 minutes peak with short-turn services
See: Surrey Rapid Transit Study Final Evaluation Report App. 2B, page 32
Fully-grade separated, elevated alignment has travel time of 22
minutes to Langley and 8 minutes to Newton from Surrey Central
Better Surrey Rapid Transit starts with SkyTrain
skytrainforsurrey.org