Surrey City Council unanimously backs SkyTrain extension to Newton | Daily Hive

Mark V train at SkyTrain's Stadium-Chinatown Station. (Kenneth Chan)

Surrey City Council has unanimously voted to pursue a new SkyTrain extension south along King George Boulevard from Surrey City Centre to Newton, giving Mayor Doug McCallum’s election-time promise the support of every member of city councillor.

The decision came during City Council’s public meeting on the evening of Nov. 9, 2026, as city councillors adopted a wide-ranging list of 16 priorities put forward by McCallum and his Safe Surrey Coalition party, based on the promises they made during the election campaign. City of Surrey staff have been directed to begin work on advancing those priorities.

City councillor Harry Bains, the sole Surrey Connect representative re-elected from the former administration of Brenda Locke and the only member outside of McCallum’s Safe Surrey Coalition supermajority, supported the SkyTrain proposal, while raising a question about what it would mean for public transit improvements further down south beyond Newton.

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“I fully support the SkyTrain to Newton. That’s a great initiative,” said Bains.

He pointed to TransLink’s existing plan to build Metro Vancouver’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line continuing through Newton to South Surrey, asking whether that southern connection would still proceed if SkyTrain were extended to Newton.

TransLink’s planned King George Boulevard BRT line would run along King George Boulevard between SkyTrain’s Surrey Central Station and Semiahmoo Town Centre in South Surrey. With extensive bus-only lanes, traffic signal priority, and other bus priority measures, this 19-km-long BRT project — with 12 BRT stations that resemble street-level Light Rail Transit (LRT) stations — carries an estimated cost of about $700 million.

This BRT would replace the existing R2 King George Boulevard RapidBus.

Bains suggested the King George Boulevard BRT line should still be built with the new proposal for SkyTrain’s Expo Line extension to Newton Town Centre, where a truncated BRT would complete the remaining journey to South Surrey.

“My hope is that if the plan is to take the SkyTrain to Newton, that we still continue with the bus rapid transit line right down to 16th Avenue and King George Boulevard,” said Bains during the deliberations.

“I think the residents of South Surrey need to be tied into our rapid transit system.”

In response, McCallum suggested the decision on building a truncated King George Boulevard BRT line between Newton Town Centre and South Surrey would fall on TransLink.

“Well, at this stage, that decision will rest with TransLink, not the city,” said Mayor McCallum.

The discussion did not produce a commitment to retain a shorter BRT line to South Surrey alongside the proposed SkyTrain extension, but McCallum said he expected to be the City of Surrey’s representative on TransLink’s Mayors’ Council and would raise Bains’ request there. The next Mayors’ Council meeting — the first meeting after the civic election — is scheduled for Nov. 19.

Yesterday’s approved motion on advancing the Newton SkyTrain extension came short of directly calling for the cancellation of the King George Boulevard LRT project — unlike the move McCallum and Safe Surrey Coalition made shortly after the November 2018 civic election, when they cancelled the Surrey Newton-Guildford LRT and redirected the municipal government’s support towards extending SkyTrain’s Expo Line from King George Boulevard to Langley City Centre. The Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project is currently in an advanced state of construction and set to reach completion and open in 2029.

The Newton SkyTrain priority also has the backing of premier-elect Lorne Doerkson and his incoming Conservative provincial government. Lorne promised during the provincial election campaign to work with the federal government to fund and build a SkyTrain extension along King George Boulevard to reach Newton Town Centre. That provincial election campaign commitment specifically aligned with McCallum’s push for the project during the civic election campaign.

In response to the Newton SkyTrain extension promises made by both McCallum and Doerkson, TransLink did not dismiss the approach, but emphasized that it would need to be attached to not only significant funding for construction but also ongoing funding for operations and maintenance upon completion.

The new Safe Surrey Coalition-led City Council’s support for the Newton SkyTrain extension follows the previous City Council’s decision in May 2026 to move the King George Boulevard BRT project into detailed design, with City staff working with TransLink.

TransLink identifies King George Boulevard BRT as one of its first three BRT projects, along with Langley-Haney Place BRT and Metrotown-North Shore BRT. Preliminary funding is in place for the design and planning work, but significant funding is still needed to actually carry out construction.

Under City Council’s new direction, City staff will return to City Council at a later date outlining the next steps to advance its 16 adopted priorities, including the costs and timelines.

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