A sneak peek at South of Fraser Light Rail, coming to a place near you

With phase two funding approved for TransLink’s 10-Year Vision, light rail in the South of Fraser will be a reality. Light rail will be built in two stages. The first stage will be between Newton, Surrey Central, and Guildford. Travel time between Newton Exchange and King George will be 13 minutes, and travel time between Guildford Exchange and Surrey Central will be 9 minutes. The second stage will be between Surrey Central and Langley City along Fraser Highway. It is expected that stage one will be open in 2024.

A map of South of Fraser Light Rail. Select image to enlarge.

Funding for the detailed design of the second stage, plus “early works” construction projects for the Surrey-Langley line is approved. Early works projects include things like relocating water, sewer, hydro, and communication lines. It also includes things like replacing bridges. Actual construction of light rail to Langley will not start until the final phase of TransLink’s 10-Year Vision is approved which will hopefully be soon.

There are well over two dozen light rail systems in Canada and the US, but light rail is a new concept in Metro Vancouver. To give people a sneak peek at what the system will look like in the South of Fraser, the City of Surrey will be touring a mockup light rail vehicle throughout their community. There are also people available to answer questions by the mockup. I dropped by Central City this weekend to have a look, and took a few pictures.

Me inside the mockup light rail vehicle. Select image to enlarge.

Inside the light rail vehicle, including a mockup of a light rail station. Select image to enlarge.

The operator cab inside the mockup light rail vehicle. Select image to enlarge.

Outside of the mockup light rail vehicle at Central City. Select image to enlarge.

The following are the dates and locations for the light rail vehicle road show:

Date	Location	Time
May 2-11	Surrey Central City Mall	12-6pm
May 13-23	Newton Superstore Parking Lot	12-6pm
May 25-26	Surrey International Children’s Festival (Bear Creek Park)	Fri: 9am-2:30pm Sat: 10:30am-7:30p
May 28 - June 1	Surrey Civic Plaza	9am-5pm
June 9	Surrey Doors Open at Surrey Operations Centre	10:00am-4:00pm
June 11-22	Guildford Town Centre	12-6pm
July 1	Canada Day Celebration (Cloverdale)	10am-9pm