TransLink stresses funding needs as provincial parties promise SkyTrain to Newton | Daily Hive

TransLink stresses funding needs as provincial parties promise SkyTrain extension to Newton

SkyTrain's Surrey Central Station. (Kenneth Chan)

Election-time platform promises earlier this week by both the Conservative Party of British Columbia and the BC NDP to extend SkyTrain’s Expo Line from Surrey City Centre to Newton are drawing support from public transit advocates.

During the civic election campaign that ended this past weekend, bringing SkyTrain to Newton was one of Surrey-elect Doug McCallum’s key election promises.

In response to McCallum’s return to Surrey City Hall and the highly apparent popularity of the Newton SkyTrain extension idea among Surrey voters, Lorne Doerkson’s Conservatives have explicitly promised to build SkyTrain along the north-south King George Boulevard corridor to Newton Town Centre, while David Eby’s BC NDP have committed to discuss with mayor-elect McCallum and his Safe Surrey Coalition-led Surrey City Council on delivering the extension.

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The BC NDP have allocated $250 million in their platform for public transit bus infrastructure serving Newton, originally intended to help cover a portion of the cost of TransLink’s proposed King George Boulevard Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, and would bring that funding to discussions about SkyTrain. The Conservatives said they would work with the federal government to fund and build the extension.

Reacting to the competing SkyTrain extension promises by both provincial parties, McCallum leaned more towards the promise made by the Conservatives, asserting that Doerksons’ Conservatives had specifically promised to build the Newton SkyTrain extension, while the BC NDP had only promised to talk about it.

TransLink also responded, throwing caution to what could lead to the cancellation of its proposed King George Boulevard Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line. The public transit authority emphasized that the provincial and federal governments would need to provide funding for not only the major upfront construction costs, but also the ongoing operating and maintenance costs of the SkyTrain extension.

In a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized upon inquiry, a spokesperson for TransLink said the public transit authority looks forward to working with the incoming TransLink’s Mayors’ Council — following this past weekend’s civic election — and the next provincial government on transportation priorities.

“Any major transit expansion, including SkyTrain to Newton, requires significant capital investment, as well as sustainable funding to operate and maintain service over the long term,” said a TransLink spokesperson.

The public transit authority also emphasized that building another SkyTrain extension — in addition to the current $6-billion construction project of SkyTrain’s Expo Line Surrey-Langley extension along the east-west Fraser Highway corridor, which will open in late 2029 — would also require addressing the financial pressures affecting the existing network.

TransLink has been asking for a major new funding source beginning in 2028, when its current provincial operating subsidies dry up, and to help cover growing operating costs, stagnant fare revenues, and dwindling regional gas tax revenues due to improved fuel economy of vehicles and the accelerating adoption of battery-electric vehicles.

“TransLink continues to face a structural funding challenge. While we welcome discussions about future expansion, new projects will require funding commitments from government partners, alongside a sustainable funding model for the existing transit system,” the spokesperson continued.

Local public transit advocacy group Movement is urging provincial and municipal governments to pursue improvements that could reach riders sooner, even as they explore the Newton SkyTrain extension.

The group supports the prospect of SkyTrain reaching Newton, but argues that commuters should not spend another decade on crowded buses caught in traffic while waiting for it.

Movement notes that the existing R1 King George Boulevard RapidBus, No. 321 Surrey Central Station/Scott Road Station, and No. 394 White Rock Centre/King George Station routes along King George Boulevard already carry a combined 27,000 passenger trips each weekday. It also indicates that riders have raised concerns about increased crowding, unreliable service, and long waits.

Its preferred approach is to build the King George Boulevard BRT line first, which would overlap with the Newton SkyTrain extension for the northern segment of the BRT. TransLink’s BRT concept involves creating bus-only lanes and other bus priority infrastructure, with the bus-only lanes for the King George Boulevard BRT built within the centre of the roadway.

The proposed BRT line would stretch 19 km between Surrey City Centre and Semiahmoo Town Centre in South Surrey, serving Newton, the South Surrey Park & Ride, and White Rock. There would be 12 BRT stations, with TransLink estimating the end-to-end travel time could be about 40 minutes.

Movement suggests the BRT project should be funded and constructed within three years, and see BRT as an interim improvement that could continue serving destinations farther south after SkyTrain reaches Newton.

TransLink notes that its BRT projects can be built and operating within three to five years once full funding is secured. But BRT as an interim solution would still carry a significant cost; the King George Boulevard BRT is expected to cost about $700 million, with the BC NDP so far committing $250 million towards the project.

king george boulevard brt langley haney place brt

January 2026 revised bus stop and route map for King George Boulevard BRT (left) and Langley-Haney Place BRT (right). (TransLink)

translink bus rapid transit brt stop station

January 2026 revised design of BRT bus stops with centre bus-only lanes. (TransLink)

Movement is also calling for a dependable source of new operating revenue for TransLink, arguing that new rapid transit extensions will provide little benefit without enough money to operate them.

The group also wants assurances for public transit passengers at Gilmore Town Centre. They are seeking frequent express buses and measures to help them bypass congestion, warning that attention to Newton should not come at Guildford’s expense.

Under TransLink’s current BRT proposal, the existing R1 RapidBus service between Surrey Central Station and Guildford Exchange would be replaced by local bus service operating just as frequently. Movement wants improvements beyond that replacement service.

Meanwhile, advocacy group SkyTrain for Surrey welcomed the commitments by municipal and provincial leaders as progress toward a project it has sought for years.

“Locking in SkyTrain for the King George Boulevard corridor promises a great transit experience for Surrey commuters. I am grateful for the support of local and provincial leaders for a project that will be absolutely transformational for our city,” said SkyTrain for Surrey founder Daryl Dela Cruz.

The group suggests an elevated SkyTrain extension could bring the journey between Surrey City Centre and Newton down to 10 minutes or less.

It also points to earlier TransLink analysis suggesting substantial ridership demand for the Newton SkyTrain extension. A July 2019 report examined an option combining a SkyTrain extension between King George Station and Newton with B-Line/RapidBus service along 104 Avenue to Guildford. That option was forecast to attract 55,000 to 60,000 daily transit trips by 2050, including 33,000 to 38,000 additional trips compared with the baseline bus-service scenario.

SkyTrain for Surrey previously advocated against the Surrey Newton-Guildford Light Rail Transit (LRT) project in favour of more SkyTrain extension projects in Surrey, which contributed to McCallum’s move to make it one of Safe Surrey Coalition’s key platform promises for the 2018 civic election. Shortly after he was re-elected in 2018, McCallum’s Safe Surrey Coalition-led City Council cancelled the street-level LRT project and turned the attention of TransLink and the provincial and federal governments to the Expo Line Surrey-Langley extension.

Additionally, in response to this week’s platform promises by both provincial parties, Imagine Surrey — the municipal party of mayoral candidate Mike Starchuk — wants the SkyTrain extension to continue beyond Newton to reach the South Surrey Park & Ride, with stations at 64 Avenue, Highway 10, and South Surrey.

They suggest that ending the SkyTrain extension at Newton would amount to building it “halfway” along the broader corridor.

The party argues that an extension ending in Newton would leave communities such as Sullivan and Panorama Ridge, along with commuters connecting from Cloverdale and South Surrey, still waiting for a rail connection closer to home.

“A train to Newton is a start,” said Narima Dela Cruz, who ran for City Council with Imagine Surrey and is the mother of Daryl Dela Cruz.

“Before anyone votes, we want three things in writing from David Eby and Lorne Doerkson: the full route to the South Surrey Park & Ride, the year it opens, and the dollars in their fiscal plan. If it isn’t on paper by Saturday, it’s a slogan.”

Imagine Surrey’s platform for the civic election called for that longer SkyTrain extension reaching South Surrey, far beyond McCallum’s platform of reaching Newton.

The provincial general election is scheduled for this Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters in each of the province’s 93 ridings will select their MLA, and the overall result will help determine which provincial party forms government and who becomes premier.

Over the final week and days of the provincial election campaign, both the Conservatives and the BC NDP have made Surrey a major focus, unveiling a series of significant promises that underscore how crucial the city’s ridings could be in determining the outcome on election night.

Both parties, for instance, have pledged to build a third hospital in Surrey, adding to the existing Surrey Memorial Hospital and the new Cloverdale hospital currently under construction for a 2030 opening. The Conservatives have specifically proposed a women’s and children’s hospital.

These pledges also align with McCallum’s civic election promise to set aside City-owned land in Newton for a hospital.

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