BC NDP says it will look into bringing commuter rail back to the Sea to Sky Region.
In an election platform released by BC NDP recently, the party said it would look at developing a business plan to evaluate bringing commuter rail back to key transportation routes, including from Vancouver to Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton.
“This will help address crowding and traffic in this fast-growing corridor and increase convenient access to more affordable housing for workers who live in Squamish and Pemberton and commute to Whistler or Vancouver,” the platform said. Connecting communities in the Fraser Valley through a new rail service, completing the Surrey to Langley SkyTrain expansion, and building new rapid transit to the North Shore are some other transit-related ideas the party promises to act on.
BC NDP isn’t the only one considering bringing a commuter train to Sea to Sky. In 2020, academics and transport planners envisioned the Mountain Valley Express, a commuter train connecting Whistler and Squamish to Vancouver and Chilliwack. In an interview with CTV in 2020, the group said such a train could cost anywhere from $7 billion to $16 billion.
This May, Transport Action BC, a public transportation advocacy group, wrote to the District of Squamish asking that rail service for the Sea to Sky region be restored.
The letter writer Rick Jelfs referenced a report by the BC Federation of Labour and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, titled “Connecting BC,” which advocates for the reinstatement of passenger rail between Vancouver and Prince George, aligning with the organization’s appeal. The letter draws attention to the successful reinstatement of Ontario’s Northlander passenger train, highlighting the possibility of reviving abandoned rail routes.
Railway has a storied history in Squamish. Trevor Mills writes that Squamish was isolated until the railway was put through in 1956, and the highway was completed in 1958. In the early days, the only way to get here was by cattle trail or steamship.
