Conservatives promise to fund Surrey LRT

The Conservative Party says it willhelp fund light rail transitin Surreyif re-elected next month.

Industry minister James Moore, who is not running for re-election, and former Surrey mayorDianne Watts, now the South SurreyWhiteRock Conservative candidate, made the announcement in Monday morning, pledging to provide up to $700 million of the proposed $2.1 billion project.

"Light Rail Transit will shape our city, spur economic growth and connect communities", saidWattsin a press release.

On Sept. 9, the Liberal Party announcedit would commit $20 billion over ten years to public transportation funding, including Surrey LRT.

At the time SurreyNewtonLiberal candidate Sukh Dhaliwalpointed to unfulfilled transit funding applications the City of Surrey had made to the federal government in previous years, saying,"Stephen Harper's government has completely abandoned the fastest growing city in British Columbia."

The NDP said it willinvest$26 billion over 20 years intransit and transportation across the country.

The first stage of the Surrey's LRT proposal is a ground level, 10.9 kilometre L-shapedline linkingGuildfordTown Centre, Surrey City Centre and Newton Town Centre.

The project was first announced with an expectation costs would be split three ways betweenTransLink, the province and the federal government, however in a plebicite TransLinkfailed to get approval for a proposed 0.5 per cent sales tax to fund transit expansion.