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New federal and provincial funding for transit

New federal and provincial funding for transit

Hey, the federal and provincial governments announced $280 million in new funding for transit this morning! Thanks, senior government partners — it’s good to see more investment in transit!

Check out the press release and backgrounder from the provincial government. Here’s the key explanation from the news release:

Lower Mainland transit users will benefit from SkyTrain and West Coast Express enhancements, thanks to a partnership between the Government of Canada, the Province of B.C. and TransLink, announced Premier Gordon Campbell, Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, and TransLink Chair Dale Parker.

Through this partnership, the Government of Canada and the Province of B.C. have identified several major transit projects, valued at $280 million, as priorities for infrastructure funding.

The federal government is setting aside up to $88.3 million, which will amount to a maximum of 33 per cent of eligible costs for the selected transit projects. The BC government is contributing over $118 million, with the balance coming from TransLink and local government partners.

And from the backgrounder, here’s where the money will specifically go:

Included under the $280 million investment are

SkyTrain Improvements

  • Station expansion (Expo Line): $133.3 million, including Main St. and Scott Road.
  • Additional SkyTrain cars: $75 million
  • Expo Line upgrades: $7 million

West Coast Express Improvements

  • Increase in West Coast Express capacity: $27.7 million. Purchase seven additional cars and upgrade 2 stations.

Other Transit System Improvements

  • Improvements to regional transit maintenance facilities: $36.5 million.

And in case you’re wondering: no, this new funding doesn’t actually alleviate our financial deficit situation any. This funding provides us with new money that is earmarked to pay for this new infrastructure, but the operating costs of this new infrastructure and the existing system still fall to us. (For a bus, operating costs are actually 90 per cent of their lifetime costs.)

And yes, we do still have to come up with the TransLink side of the funding for these initiatives, which we’ll consult you about in the upcoming months.

But still, hurrah — this is great news for SkyTrain and West Coast Express! And the new Fleet Overhaul home in Maple Ridge!

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