TransLink unveils details of Vancouver transit investment plans

TransLink earlier this week released details of the CA$7.3 billion second phase of its 10-year investment plan.

The second phase includes "significant increases" to SkyTrain and bus service, as well as construction of two new rapid transit projects that have been in the planning stages for years, TransLink officials said in a press release.

Under Phase II, TransLink will extend SkyTrain's Millennium Line and build six  SkyTrain stations along Broadway. The agency also plans to build the Surrey-Newton-Guildford light-rail line in Surrey, British Columbia.

In addition, TransLink will order more than 100 new SkyTrain cars for SkyTrain's Expo and Millennium lines and 95 replacement cars for the existing fleet. The agency also intends to modernize infrastructure on those two SkyTrain routes.

TransLink is accepting feedback on the proposed second phase through May 11. In June, the agency will present a final second phase investment plan to its board and the Vancouver-area Mayors' Council.

If the plan is approved, projects in the second phase could begin as soon as 2019.

"The funding agreements are in place, and we are excited to be taking this next phase from planning into reality," said TransLink Chief Executive Officer Kevin Desmond.

In March, the Vancouver-area Mayors' Council on Regional Transportation and the province of British Columbia agreed to provide CA$2.5 billion in regional funding toward the 10-year plan's second phase.