We're a little (?) off-topic for this thread, but it's an interesting discussion...
I was wondering if the best way to get "rail to the valley" would be to build a commuter rail line mostly along the Hwy 1 right-of-way. It would deviate from Hwy 1 to pass closer to the town centres of Chilliwack, Abby, Langley, and Surrey, but would return to the highway in between them.
I saw a HSR line being built alongside a freeway in Greece, and it seemed to be an effective way to build it. All of the overpasses were just extended to cross over the rail line. Obviously HSR was a little more complicated since the curves had to be shallower than those of the freeway.
Any rail line out through the valley will have to terminate in Surrey, I think. Surrey is supposed to become this huge metropolitan core of the valley, and Surrey is already connected to the rest of Metro Vancouver by a form of rapid transit. I just can't see anyone paying for yet another commuter rail crossing of the Fraser, on top of the SkyBridge and Canada Line bridge - unless perhaps the line crosses the Fraser on the new Port Mann bridge.
Actually, I wonder if the Golden Ears Bridge was built to be compatible with future rail?
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