Feds commit $1.5 billion over 10 years for Metro Vancouver transit
The federal government has committed more than $1.5 billion over 10 years for Metro Vancouver's beleaguered transit network.
A statement from the Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities says the funding deal for TransLink is the first metro-region agreement under the new Canada Public Transit Fund.
The funding from 2026 to 2036 is in addition to $663 million announced by Ottawa in January for TransLink infrastructure over the same period.
TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn says in the statement that the service looks forward to continuing its partnership with Ottawa through the new deal, and it continues to work with all levels of government to expand transit to meet the region's needs.
However, Quinn has previously said TransLink was facing an annual operational shortfall of $600 million starting next year.
He said last July that without funding to address the gap, transit services would face "significant cuts."
Last March, the B.C. government gave TransLink an injection of $479 million in provincial funding to maintain services and fares.
The Canada Public Transit Fund, announced by the federal government last year, is set to start doling out $3 billion a year beginning in 2026.
The federal government also announced Friday a contribution of $189 million over 10 years for B.C. Transit, a provincial Crown corporation serving communities outside Metro Vancouver.
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Vancouver Sun
03-06-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Broadway subway hits midway point, later than first anticipated — and at a higher cost
Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth joined journalists Monday to descend several storeys into the cavernous concrete box that will become the Broadway subway line's Emily Carr-Northern Way station to get a glimpse of its progress. 'Here we are at one of the key entrances to the tunnel where they're starting to lay track,' Farnworth said, dwarfed by the six-metre diameter concrete tube around him and the pair of rails that will eventually stretch five kilometres west to Arbutus Street. 'You can see by the size of the tunnel just how big this project is,' Farnworth added. The province also said project's costs have continued to creep higher, to $2.95 billion from the last estimate of $2.83 billion. The project will extend TransLink's Millennium Line from VCC Clark Station to Arbutus Street in the hopes of reducing congestion on Broadway, one of Vancouver's busiest commuter routes. 1 of 20 Full Screen is not supported on this browser version. You may use a different browser or device to view this in full screen. Farnworth said when complete in the fall of 2027, the line will be able to carry three times as many passengers as TransLink's 99 B-Line bus route. Paired with the 16 kilometre extension of the Expo Line from Surrey to Langley, the projects represent a 27 per cent expansion of SkyTrain. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'It's going to be a significant improvement in terms of people's ability to commute,' Farnworth said. 'It'll shorten the commute, on average, for commuters coming from farther out, let's say around the New West, Surrey area, by about 30 minutes.' Monday's tour came at a midway point in construction with some 750 workers at various stages of filling in the subway line's six new stations. The line is being built by a consortium of major construction firms, including Spanish infrastructure giant Acciona and the Canadian subsidiary of Italian tunnelling experts Ghella SpA. When work began in 2020, builders hoped to hit a fall 2025 completion date. A concrete-industry strike in 2022 put a delay into the schedule that spiralled to 18 months by a year ago when the province announced it wouldn't be complete until the fall of 2027. The project remains on track for that revised schedule, according to Farnworth, though that isn't much comfort to a businesses hollowed out by subway construction. 'I've stopped counting,' Neil Wyles, executive director of the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association, said of the number of businesses that have closed due to reduced access around station locations. 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Surrey commuters, however, are also starting to face the project's first major traffic disruptions with a full closure of Fraser Highway between 140 Street and 96 Avenue, a stretch near the extension's intended start at King George Station and Green Timbers. The province announced last summer that the project's cost estimate had ballooned to almost $6 billion from the near $4 billion when it was launched. At the future Emily Car-Great Northern Way station on the Broadway subway, things are looking closer to complete. During Monday's visit, workers at one end of the four-block long construction site were busy clearing away stacks of scaffolding parts from the top of station's concrete box before it is filled in to make way for a massive development destined to go up overhead. 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Global News
03-06-2025
- Global News
B.C. gives behind-the-scenes look at the Broadway subway, still aiming for 2027 launch
It's still more than two years from coming into service, but there's no question Vancouver's Broadway subway is starting to take shape. The province offered the public a sneak peek behind the scenes on the $2.95 billion project, which will see the SkyTrain Millennium line extended from its current terminus of VCC-Clark station to Arbutus Street on the city's west side. 'This line alone will be able to carry at any one time more than three times the capacity of the 99 B-Line, so it is going to be a significant improvement,' Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth said. 4:12 Impact on businesses as Broadway subway extension faces delays 'When this is complete with this project and the completion of the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project, that is going to increase the capacity of the SkyTrain system by more than 27 per cent.' Story continues below advertisement Once complete, the 5.7-kilometre extension will whisk passengers from VCC-Clark to Arbutus Station in about 11 minutes. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The massive project is currently employing some 750 tradespeople, many of them currently working on the extension's six three-level underground stations. Crews finished boring the subway's twin five-kilometre tunnels last spring; those tunnels are now clad in concrete and the current focus is on laying track, which is being hauled in in 400-metre lengths. Work on the subway began in 2020, with an initial target completion date of 2025. The completion date has since been pushed back to the fall of 2027, with the province citing a variety of factors including the COVID-19 pandemic, a five-week concrete strike, and unexpected challenges with tunnel boring. 1:48 Completion dates for Broadway subway, Pattullo Bridge pushed back 'Whenever a tunnel-boring machine's going through, there're always issues that come along the way that … slow it down a bit,' Farnworth said. Story continues below advertisement 'We're still on time for the fall of 2027.' Extending the line from Arbutus to UBC remains a priority for TransLink, which has included the concept in the second half of its latest 10-year plan. However, despite support from the university and the City of Vancouver, that extension remains unfunded with no specific cash commitment from either the provincial or federal governments.
CTV News
02-06-2025
- CTV News
B.C. government to provide update on Broadway Subway project
A Millennium Line train is seen at VCC-Clark station in this undated photo from TransLink. The Ministry of Transportation and Transit is set to provide an update Monday on the long-awaited Broadway Subway project. The province will be giving a tour of the guideway and tunnel of the SkyTrain expansion. The project is both behind schedule and over budget. The Broadway Subway will extend the SkyTrain Millennium Line from its current terminus at VCC-Clark Station to Arbutus Street, reducing travel times along that stretch of the Broadway corridor to just 11 minutes. The new line will not directly travel to UBC, and riders heading to the university will need to transfer to the 99 B-Line bus. In December, the province announced the project's budget had increased by $127 million to $2.95 billion. The subway line was initially planned to open in 2025, but the B.C. Government announced last year that it wouldn't be completed until 2027.
