Explainer: Station names announced for Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension
The multi-billion-dollar project will add eight new stations, connecting communities across the Lower Mainland
The Langley City Centre Station is the new name of the final stop, or terminal, in the Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension project. (Flickr/Province of British Columbia)
The Provincial Government of British Columbia’s ministry of transportation and infrastructure announced the names of eight new stations to be developed for the Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension project early last month.
The stations will run along Fraser Highway from King George Station to the end of the extended line in Langley. The first stop after King George Station will be Green Timbers Station on 140 Street and Fraser Highway, followed by 152 Street Station on 152 Street.
Eight blocks down Fraser Highway will be the next stop, Fleetwood Station, on 160 Street, and then Bakerview-166 Street Station on 166 Street, which is also in the Fleetwood area.
Moving along Fraser Highway into the Clayton area will be Hillcrest-184 Street Station on 184 Street, followed by Clayton Station on 190 street, the final stop in Surrey.
The last two stops are located in Langley. After Clayton Station, the next stop will be Willowbrook Station on 196 Street, and then the train will arrive at its new terminal, Langley City Centre Station on 203 Street.
The new SkyTrain station names were selected by TransLink, developed to be easily identifiable for transit riders to navigate the new system with ease, and will become community landmarks, recognized for decades to come, reads a news release by the provincial government.
The process to develop the station names included mapping exercises, stakeholder consultations, community and neighbourhood plan reviews, and a study into land-use policies.
“It’s estimated 50,000 new residents will continue to move into Metro Vancouver every single year,” said Brad West, chair of the Mayors’ Council, a collective voice of Metro Vancouver residents on transit and transportation, in the news release.
“By investing in public transit we are helping make the lives of these new British Columbians easier while simultaneously improving the quality of life and travel for everyone else.”
The Surrey Langley SkyTrain project is a multi-billion dollar, 16-kilometre extension of the Expo Line and is the first transit expansion to occur south of the Fraser River in 30 years. Transit goers will be able to travel from Langley city to downtown Vancouver in just over an hour once the project is complete.
“Investments in public transit infrastructure help Canadians get where they need to go safely and efficiently, take cars off roads, and support housing development,” said John Aldag, MP for Cloverdale-Langley City on behalf of Sean Fraser, federal minister of housing, infrastructure, and communities in the news release.
“[The] announcement provides an important update to the Surrey Langley SkyTrain project bringing us one step closer to the official start of construction and signalling a better connected and more affordable future for Metro Vancouverites, particularly those of us living south of the Fraser.”
The new station areas are also locations where the provincial government will support transit-orientated expansions so commuters can rely on public transit for their travels, increasing the efficiency and vibrancy of communities, reads the news release.
The Surrey Langley SkyTrain will be executed through three contracts, the guideway, the stations, and the systems and trackwork. Construction on the project is expected to begin this year, with completion expected by 2028.
