Word expected today on rail corridor

Transit along the E&N Rail corridor between Langford and Victoria appears one step closer to reality, with the province set to make an announcement this morning.

The Ministry of Transportation issued a media advisory late Wednesday afternoon about an announcement regarding “commuter transportation service in the Capital Regional District.”

The announcement, involving Transportation Minister Todd Stone and area mayors, will occur at a train stop at Admirals and Colville roads.

Langford Mayor Stew Young said a commitment from the province would give legs to a proposal to revive services in the capital region.

“It gives some optimism to everyone interested in lessening commute times from Langford to Victoria. Something is needed, whether it be a bus with wheels to start with or a train. But with the province stepping in … there’s a lot more life in this thing now than there was three to six months ago,” Young said.

Trains stopped running on the track in 2011, amid concerns about track safety.

In 2015, the B.C. Safety Authority told the provincial government that planned upgrades for the line, which stretches to Courtenay at its northern end, were not adequate.

Young said a turning point in reviving service along the 15-kilometre stretch within the capital region came last year. That’s when developer Ken Mariash announced his company, Focus Equities, would commit $300,000 to $500,000 toward developing a business case.

In December, Mariash, who is behind the Bayview Place and Roundhouse properties in Vic West, estimated capital costs — such as track rehabilitation to get service running — would be no more than $10 million.

He also said the project would require a subsidy to help defray annual operating costs estimated at between $3 million and $4 million, since fares are expected to cover only about half of this.

The Island Corridor Foundation, which owns the track, has expressed tentative support for the plan, pending more information.

Young said a mayors’ working group reviewed the business case, with B.C. Transit at the table, and submitted it to the province.

“Todd looked at it and said he was excited about what he saw in the report. He said: ‘Now that you’ve provided us with some concrete stuff, you can work with my staff, we can get engaged,’ ” Young said.

“We’ve been talking to the province all along, and they said get it to the point where it has shown support.”

Young said Mariash’s financial investment, combined with the mayors’ working group, constitutes that support.