Surrey and White Rock waterfront rail line gaining momentum

The effort to move a busy railway line away from the White Rock and south Surrey ocean front seems to be picking up steam.

Surrey city council wants to spend $700,000 on a rail relocation study and it's asking White Rock and the province to help pay.

"We need to do quite a bit of technical work, sort of evaluating the reasons to move the railroad tracks due to safety and the fact that the number of trains is increasing," says Surrey City Councillor Judy Villeneuve.

"It's now in staff's hands and they will be doing some technical analysis of what it would cost to move the line to two or three locations."

Villeneuve says moving the line will cost at least $350 million.

"It cuts off communities"

Residents and business owners have been complaining about the route for years, saying up to 20 trains a day use it.

"A lot of these trains are really long and the coal trains, for example, can have 130 cars," says Paula Williams with the group Communities and Coal.

"It cuts off communities from emergency access. If someone has a heart attack, first responders can't get in because there is a 7-minute train passing."

Williams is also concerned about imported coal from the United States and the transport of dangerous goods such as chlorine gas.

She fears relocating the line will just move the problem to another community.

Long, expensive process

There will need to be three to five years to study the issue and consult with the public, Villeneuve said.

The city also has to go through a lengthy rail relocation application process and convince the owner of the line, BNSF, that moving is a good idea.

"It's not something that is going to happen overnight, but there is a will from our council, White Rock council and the province," Villeneuve said.

"We do not believe that, as many people say, it's a dream. We believe it's going to become a reality."