Port Moody signs letter in support of regional rail 

The idea of regional rail garnered support from Port Moody council recently.

Lee Haber, the technical lead for Mountain Valley Express (MVX),a non-profit that advocates for a regional rail network in the South Coast of B.C., appeared before council on Nov. 12 council meeting to make the case that “frequent, regional rail service” is missing in B.C. Haber asked council to sign an open letter to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and TransLink. 

“Without world class regional rail, our region risks falling behind other global cities, as well failing to meet important environmental and equity goals,” Haber said.

A train that could reach speeds of 160 kilometres per hour running along 350 kilometre of track connecting Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and the Sea-to-Sky corridor would drastically reduce transit times, according to MVX.

In the open letter, the group requested the province give minimum resources and attention to regional rail to address key planning issues years before “shovels are put into the ground.”

They also asked the province to establish a directory of properties to preserve and monitor to ensure future transit is accommodated.

“Regional rail makes sense for Metro Vancouver, and it makes sense for Port Moody,” he said. “Although it would not directly serve Port Moody, it would significantly reduce congestion and travel times to major regional destinations.”

Coun. Kyla Knowles said it would be “absolutely a game changer for our economy.” 

She moved that the delegation request be considered immediately, seconded by Coun. Amy Lubik.

Coun. Samantha Agtarap also expressed her support. “I think we should be looking into the future, and planning ahead.”

Council voted unanimously in favour of signing the letter.

With this regional rail service, MVX estimated trip times from Moody Centre to Vancouver International Airport (YVR), Abbotsford International Airport and the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal would take around 35 minutes.

In an interview with the Dispatch, Haber said the cost of transit is made up for by greater productivity.

“If you’re not spending money on transit, we’re going to be spending more money in terms of lost productivity because of congestion. We’re going to be losing productivity in terms of people having less access to job opportunities across the entire region, and then you’re also going to be seeing the consequences of higher levels of pollution.”

The open letter “is basically calling on different organizations, including municipalities, to get behind the idea of regional rail and behind the idea that is something we need to start planning for,” Haber explained.

Seventeen organizations including Port Moody and Langley have now signed the letter.

Haber also pointed out that during B.C.’s recent election, all the major parties mentioned the need for some form of regional rail.

“I think it is emerging in the consciousness.”