Delays on West Coast Express ‘unacceptable,’ says minister
Province asks CP Railway to meet with TransLink and find solution
The provincial minister responsible for TransLink has echoed Metro Vancouver mayors’ call for an end to freight-related delays on the West Coast Express.
“It is a priority for all of us to make sure that (Canadian Pacific Railway) sits at the table and we find the solution,” Peter Fassbender said Tuesday following an event in Surrey.
Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 8, the commuter rail service, which runs between Mission and downtown Vancouver, experienced more than 80 hours of delays, causing passengers — who pay a premium to ride the train — to be late for work, cancel appointments and miss family commitments.
The delays have been caused by slow or stopped CPR freight trains blocking the West Coast Express. TransLink has run the rail service for 21 years and pays CPR millions for use of the tracks during the morning and afternoon commutes.
TransLink has been trying to work with CPR to resolve the issue, to no avail. CPR recently stated it is “actively working on solutions” to the delays, but both freight and passenger traffic have increased along the tracks.
In a letter addressed to Transportation Minister Marc Garneau and CPR chief executive officer E. Hunter Harrison, members of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation said enough is enough and asked that officials from CPR and Transport Canada meet with TransLink’s CEO as soon as possible to negotiate an end to the problems. “We hope you understand that these delays are having a serious and negative effect on workers, employers, students and many others who rely on this critical public transit service,” the letter stated.
Fassbender said he recently spoke with CPR’s executive vicepresident and told him the West Coast Express delays were “unacceptable.”
“It is about moving people and goods and services but I believe strongly, and I told the VP of CPR, that that can be managed. There are many other jurisdictions where passenger and freight share the same rail lines,” Fassbender said.
“We should be able to manage that, and I said on behalf of the province of British Columbia our expectation was that CPR and TransLink would be able to sort that out.”