Quote:
Originally Posted by ssiguy
Your last point is relevant but the Valley Line would be COMPLETELY different from the WCE. The WCE has to pay exhorbitant amounts to CP for the privledge and that would NOT be the case in the Valley. When they took over the line then Premier Vander Zalm kept the route for passenger service as part of the deal. That means that the entire route can be used for passenger service without having to give CP a dime to use it. Also in the terms of the deal, if passenger rail resumes and there is a conflict of usage between freight and passenger, the passenger service takes priority over the freight unlike almost everywhere else in Canada and if congestion becomes an issue and the tracks need to be twinned and overpasses/grade separation needs to take place in certain areas, as per the agreement, the cost would has to be born 100% by CP.
Obviously BCTransit/Translink should work with CP in good faith to make sure that both passenger and freight can safely use the line.........inhibiting freight movement does no favours to a port city like Vancouver. That said, when push comes to shove, passenger rail has priority on the line. The situation with the WCE has no analogy with a potential Valley line.
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Where the hell did this notion that passenger rail has priority on the old Interurban line? The only source I can find is on Wikipedia, and it appears to be a fairly recent edit by a random user.
Reading this Translink board document, it seems to indicate the following:
https://www.translink.ca/-/media/Documen...mt-Report--Interurban-Passenger-Rail.pdf
Quote:
The SRY Fraser Valley Subdivision is a single-track railway that joins Vancouver, New Westminster, Surrey and Langley industrial customers with the national rail network of Canada. The railway extends from the New Westminster Rail Bridge in the northwest part of the study area, passes near the Scott Road SkyTrain Station, and runs south to Newton. From there, the rail line extends southeast to Cloverdale, joining the CPR Page Subdivision at Pratt Junction (near 180th Street).
Ownership of the railway infrastructure is with Washington Group (SRY is a subsidiary). The land on which the railway operates is still retained by BC Hydro. In 1988, BC Hydro sold its rail assets to SRY and granted it the right to operate a freight rail system on this section of the corridor. BC Hydro did not specifically reserve rights to operate passenger rail service using SRY facilities, but did retain the ability to grant operating rights to others, including to providers of passenger rail service, that do not materially interfere with SRY’s operations. Operation of passenger service on this subdivision would require an agreement with SRY.
SRY operates an average of two daily trains in each direction on the segment passing through Newton. It dispatches trains by radio system and does not have a signal system to control their movement. Trains typically run between 01:00 and 09:00 Monday to Friday and between 21:00 and 05:00 on Sundays. Days and times are variable and trains can operate at any time between the start and end of each identified window depending on the customers' requirements. SRY also maintains a window, five days per week, for patrols and periodic / scheduled maintenance. All connecting movements from New Westminster, Fraser Surrey Dock and Burke Road to Cloverdale, Langley, Gloucester, Huntingdon and Chilliwack, must travel through the identified track. Maintenance windows typically are during the day between 09:00 and 15:00 Monday to Friday. Maintenance also may occasionally be required on weekends or outside the specific windows.
CPR Page Subdivision The CPR Page Subdivision continues east of Cloverdale from Pratt Junction through Langley City and beyond. In 1988, BC Hydro sold the track assets of this section to CPR, but retained ownership of the right-of-way. BC Hydro also granted CPR a statutory right-of-way to use this section of the corridor in perpetuity, but put agreements in place to retain partial running rights for passenger service, which were renewed in 2009. Operation of passenger service on this section would require an agreement with CPR.
This section, which CPR shares with Canadian National (CN) Railway and SRY, is part of the RBRC (along with the BC Railway Port Subdivision immediately to the west), serving export coal and international container traffic going to and from the Roberts Bank port facilities in Delta. It is a busy single-track line that passes through the north side of Langley City, carrying an average of 9 trains of 80-130 cars (1.8 to 2.9 km long trains) in each direction per day, with train movements occurring seven days per week at any hour of the day. CPR train dispatchers use a Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) system to manage trains because of the relatively high frequency of rail traffic.
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So, no, Translink appears to be believing that there is no passenger service priority over the old interurban line sections, did not specifically reserve the right to do so, merely reserved the right assign the right to others as long as they didn't interfere with freight traffic, and agreements are needed between SRY and CP Rail in order to run a passenger rail service.
So, it appears that a passenger rail service would be subordinate to freight service along the corridor, per Translink's own documents on the line.
Also, Transport Canada's own regulations would require separation of any light rail service from freight trains on the same line, either by isolating the times to which both passenger and freight can run, or by laying down a new line parallel to the old line. And isolating the times won't work from SRY's position, as they run on-demand services as required by customer demands.
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