The funding, which will be back-dated to April 1 to enable projects to proceed as soon as possible, comes from the $C 10bn first phase of the Canadian government's $C 120bn Investing in Canada infrastructure initiative. The funding for BC is split between the federal government which will provide $C 460m and the BC government which will contribute $C308m, while BC's transport authority Translink will provide $C 125m.
Rail's share of the funding will be used to purchase 50 additional SkyTrain cars for the Expo, Millennium, and Canada automatic light metro lines in Vancouver, upgrades to SkyTrain stations, design and planning for the Rapid Transit South of Fraser light rail project in Surrey and the Millennium Line extension along Broadway to Arubtus, and to purchase five double-deck coaches and a new locomotive for the West Coast Express commuter rail service.
