1 of 1 2 of 1

B.C. is getting more than $460 million out of the $3.4 billion that the federal government will spend on public transit over three years.

The national budget unveiled today includes a new Public Transit Infrastructure Fund to support various projects like “new light rail transit lines in Greater Vancouver and Ottawa”. Based on ridership, Metro Vancouver expects that its share over three years will be $370 million.

Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs said that this is welcome news for the Lower Mainland, even though the budget did not mention SkyTrain by name.

Mayors in the region previously crafted a 10-year transportation plan, which involves $7.5 billion in capital spending for projects that include three light-rail lines in in Surrey and a Broadway subway line in Vancouver.

“We’re very confident they’re funding the plan, and not taking particular projects,” Meggs told the Straight by phone when asked about the budget’s specific reference to light rail. “The plan is proposing SkyTrain to Arbutus [in Vancouver], and the light rail option to Surrey.”

Meggs said that mayors in Metro Vancouver will meet Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi on Thursday (March 24) to sort out details. “There’s work to do right away,” he said.

The three Surrey lines have been estimated to cost $2.1 billion; a Broadway subway going from VCC-Clark Station to Arbutus Street is anticipated to clock in at nearly $2 billion.

If everything went as quickly as possible, Meggs said that it would take at least a couple of years to complete final design work for the Broadway subway line before it is ready to go for procurement.