South Fraser Community Rail Society recently premiered a new series on the proposal to bring passenger rail back to the South of Fraser.
The 4 part interview series, hosted by chillTV News Director, Don Lehn, examines the veracity of reactivating an existing 100 year old community rail line, with hydrogen powered trains, and features interviews with former Mayor of the Township of Langley, Rick Green, former Premier of BC, Bill Vander Zalm, millenial and SFCR vice-president Brit Gardner, and UBC Urban Design professor Patrick Condon.
Viewership was significant, with 20,0000-30,000 views per episode during the facebook premiere event.
All four episodes are now uploaded to our YouTube channel for watching and sharing:
Episode 1
In this first episode, aired on Sep 19 2020, we learn about the history of the “interurban corridor” linking Surrey to Chilliwack, and how some intrepid sleuthing ensured that the 99 km community rail line is readily available to use today.
Episode 2: “Connecting Population Centres”
In Episode 2, Former Langley Mayor Rick Green and UBC Urban Design Professor Patrick Condon join host Don Lehn to examine how this 100 year old existing rail line would connect population centres within the valley, where a lot of people live and travel.
Episode 3: “A No Brainer?!”
In Episode 3, our vice president Brit Gardner joins Rick Green and host Don Lehn to weigh in with an overview on the metrics and discussion of the proposed new hydrail service, and lend a millennial perspective. Activating the entire 99 km Interurban Rail Line with hydrogen passenger trains would cost less than extending Skytrain 14 km to Langley.
Episode 4: “Making Community Rail a Reality”
We’ve seen the history behind this hundred year old line, we’ve seen where it goes and how it could connect the population centre’s in the Fraser Valley, and we’ve even seen how modern technology and green hydrogen power could reactivate the 99 km of the Interurban Rail Line between Surrey & Chilliwack. Now, how does it get done? Maybe with your help.
Bill Vander Zalm, and Rick Green, are back with host Don Lehn for the finale of the 4 part series.