Surrey Langley SkyTrain Project - Project Overview

The Surrey Langley SkyTrain will improve the transportation experience, increase access to opportunities and housing, support healthy communities and environment, and support economic development.

The Surrey Langley SkyTrain project will extend the Expo Line 16 kilometres primarily along Fraser Highway on an elevated guideway from King George SkyTrain Station in Surrey to 203 Street in Langley City. It includes eight stations and three transit exchanges at Bakerview-166 Street, Willowbrook, and Langley City Centre stations.

 

Surrey Langley SkyTrain Stations

Current Status

Advance work to relocate utilities is underway. The approved business case was published in July 2022 and the multiple contracts procurement process started in August 2022. The Province will continue to work closely with Indigenous groups, municipal government partners, and TransLink throughout the project.

Schedule

The current anticipated in-service date for Surrey Langley SkyTrain is late 2028.

Cost

The business case estimate for the total cost of Surrey Langley SkyTrain is $4.01 billion, which includes capital costs and active transportation investments.

Purpose

The area south of the Fraser is one of the fastest growing areas in the region. The population of the Surrey, Langley City and Langley is projected to increase by 420,000 people and add 147,000 new jobs by the year 2050. As the population in communities south of the Fraser continues to grow, so does demand for transit.

History

In 2020, the Province committed to deliver the full 16-kilometre SkyTrain extension to Langley City Centre.

The origins of the project date back to 2014 when the regional Mayors’ Council identified the need for 27 kilometres of rapid transit on three priority corridors south of the Fraser – 104 Avenue, King George Boulevard and Fraser Highway.

While Light Rail Transit (LRT) was initially identified as the technology of choice, a shift was made in 2019 to focus on the Fraser Highway Corridor using SkyTrain technology. Between 2018 and 2020, TransLink undertook planning and design development work for Stage 1 of the project – from King George SkyTrain Station to 166 Street in Fleetwood – which was based on the available funding at that time. TransLink expected this seven-kilometre extension to be in-service in 2025, with provisional planning for an eventual completion of the Fleetwood-to-Langley City portion, which was unfunded at that time, for some time around 2030.

In late 2020 – after the effects of COVID were felt province-wide – funding for the Surrey Langley SkyTrain Project became unclear. As such, the Province looked for opportunities to support the ongoing development of the region’s transit network and committed to delivering the entire 16-kilometre Project from King George Station to Langley City. In July 2021, the Province secured up to $1.3 billion in funding from the federal government and confirmed its intent to deliver the project all the way to Langley.

By constructing the project all at one time, it will enable the Province to open the extension in 2028 – a full two years earlier than if it was built in multiple stages. Building Surrey Langley SkyTrain as a single project will also save the Province about $500 million.

This project is a priority for the Province and is a key component of B.C.’s economic recovery.