1. Building mobile, connected communities
Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce
October 18, 2011

2. Improving mobility and quality of life
• an integrated package of nine
road-rail improvement projects,
for completion by 2014
• will improve the safety and add
efficiencies to the road and rail
networks in four municipalities
• a $307 million investment funded
by an unprecedented
collaboration of 12 partners

3. The Partners:

4. Good for business and the economy
• the Roberts Bank Rail Corridor Program is part of Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway
and Corridor Initiative (APGCI): a $2.8 billion investment in western Canada’s
transportation network
• APGCI is complemented by the British Columbia’s Gateway Program, including:
 Port Mann/Highway 1 Project
 South Fraser Perimeter Road
 North Fraser Perimeter Road
 Pitt River Bridge
• together, they form a comprehensive, integrated system to
enhance the movement of people and products throughout the Lower Mainland

5. Improving movement of goods
• 70 km rail corridor connecting
the North American rail network
with Roberts Bank
 Canada’s largest container facility
 a major terminal for coal export
• carrying increasing volumes of
international freight
 Today - up to 18 trains per day,
each 6,000 to 9,500 feet long
 Future - expected to increase to 28
to 38 trains per day, up to 12,000 ft
long

6. Challenges to mobility, safety and efficiency
• most of the corridor is single-track
• 66 public and private road-rail crossings
 only 12 are overpasses
• 338,000 vehicles cross the tracks each day
 up to 560,000/day expected by 2021
 increasing volumes on roads and rails
present challenges for rail operations
and road networks

7. Solutions: out of traffic and on your way
• Partners agreed on:
 optimal locations for
investments in road-rail
interface projects
 leveraging their investments to
maximize benefits for
motorists, railways and
neighbouring communities
• TransLink is the lead agency of the
RBRC partners

8. The Projects

9. 41B Street rail overpass at Deltaport Way
• maintains connectivity for farms, business and residents
• enables the expansion of the Gulf rail yard
• eliminates traffic delays and train whistling
• improves safety by removing level rail crossing

10. 80th Street rail overpass project
• gives emergency vehicles uninterrupted access to Boundary Bay Airport
• provides a primary access road to airport
• will complement the new signal at 80th St. and Ladner Trunk Road

11. Panorama Ridge whistle-cessation project
• enables a 13,000 foot railway siding east of Mud Bay
• reduces train whistling by closing at-grade crossings
• re-aligns Colebrook Road

12. 152nd Street rail overpass project
• reduces delays between Surrey/White Rock and other
parts of Surrey
• reduces train whistling in the area
• Improves safety at Colebrook Road

13. The Combo Projects
• rail overpasses at 192nd St, Street,
54th Avenue and new 196th
Street
• new road network in the area
• improves access to industrial area in east Surrey
• provides a reliable route for transit
and first responders
• increases capacity (traffic volume expected to double by 2021)
• complemented by the Advanced Railway Information System that will notify
drivers of approaching trains

14. Mufford/64th Avenue at Highway 10 project
• relieves congestion and delays
• improves safety by removing at-grade rail crossing
• improves access to Glover Road and Highway 10
• improves arterial road network connectivity
• complemented by the Advanced Railway
Information System

16. 232nd Street rail overpass project
• extends existing Rawlison rail siding to accommodate longer trains
• reduces train whistling
• removes delays for emergency vehicles, cars and trucks

17. Local Benefits
• the Asia Pacific Gateway is vital to the economic future of BC
communities
 provides one of seven jobs in the Lower Mainland
• City of Langley: 607 jobs (direct)
• Township of Langley: 1,694 jobs (direct)
 provides $12.3 billion in GDP to the region’s economy
• City of Langley: $122 million
• Township of Langley: $367 million
-The Economic Role of The Gateway Transportation System in the Greater Vancouver Region
Economic Development Research Group (2007)

18. Benefits of the RBRC Program
 improves the flow of local traffic
 improves traffic safety
 reduces train whistling
 reduces idling of vehicles at level crossings
 enhances the efficiency and safety of rail operations
 increases local and national trade competitiveness
 accommodates growth in trade-related traffic

19. Laying the groundwork for
an economically sound and
environmentally sustainable future

20. Roberts Bank Rail Corridor Program video:
Nine Projects to Improve Mobility and Livability

21. Questions?
www.robertsbankrailcorridor.ca