8 July 2009
Interurban Passenger Rail Option Renewed
An Interurban tram running through Langley in the 1950s,
before the electric passenger rail service was discontinued.
Cloverdale British Columbia - BC Hydro has extended
its rights to offer a passenger rail service through Cloverdale and Langley on the railway corridor that once carried Interurban trams
but now sees growing freight train traffic serving Deltaport.
Langley Township and light rail advocates with VALTAC (Valley Transportation Advisory Committee) had publicly called for the
extension, warning a modern revival of the Interurban line would be thwarted if the current rights were allowed to expire at the end
of August.
"We have renewed the rights," BC Hydro spokesman Dag Sharman said Tuesday, adding a letter was sent to Canadian Pacific Rail
30 Jun 2009. "We support the preservation of passenger rights."
The renewal for another 21 years covers what's known as the Pratt-Livingstone corridor from 180 Street in Surrey to 232
Street in Langley.
If ever exercised, the rights let BC Hydro operate a passenger rail service on the corridor for free - with no payment to CP - in
contrast to TransLink's West Coast Express, which is forced to pay CP millions of dollars a year for track access.
"This isn't their worst nightmare, but it's certainly in the bad dream category," said VALTAC director Peter Holt, adding he
still wouldn't be surprised if CP pressured the province to overturn the passenger rights.
He said the profitability of CP investments along the Roberts Bank rail corridor would suffer if the railway is forced to reserve a
third of the route's capacity for passenger trains, rather than freight, as set out in the agreement.
He said Victoria has been dogged in its determination to expand the port and use the rail corridor to haul freight rather than people.
"The province could do something dramatic like give the corridor away through an order-in-council," Holt said.
Langley Township Mayor Rick Green welcomed news of the rights renewal.
"There was no way we could have run passenger service on that corridor if the rights had expired," he said.
But he, too, remained cautious.
"CP from what I understand has been making approaches to the provincial government," Green said.
"We all know the power of railways. I don't need to say much more when we're talking about railways in British Columbia."
Victoria would break the deal preserving future passenger rail rights "at their peril," Green warned.
"The community south of the river will go ballistic if this agreement is not lived up to and that corridor is not
protected."
CP spokesman Mike LoVecchio said the railway is still reviewing the 1988 agreement to "see if anything needs updating."
Asked if the company could seek to reopen it, he said: "At this point that would be speculative."
BC Hydro retained the land and passenger service rights when it sold the tracks to CP 21 years ago to run trains to Deltaport.
LoVecchio said he is "mystified" at Green's comments, adding the Langley Township mayor has never expressed his concerns
directly to CP.
A major Fraser Valley transit study, initiated by the provincial government, is supposed to be completed by the end of the year, and
is in part examining the Interurban corridor.
Jeff Nagel.
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