14 April 2009
Township's Rail Rights Faded
Langley British Columbia - "I'm going to save
you $9.3 million tonight," a retired transportation engineer told Langley Township council on Monday evening,
6 Apr 2009.
The former Walnut Grove engineer, who now lives in White Rock, presented council with a copy of a 1906 bylaw that created the rail
line through Langley.
Jacob de Raadt said the Langley Tram Power and Light By-Law granted the Vancouver Power Co. Ltd. to operate a railway
(known as the BC Electric Railway) on what is now the CP line. "This bylaw is still valid and was never rescinded," he
said.
Other railways were created by federal or provincial charter, he explained, and asked, "Does this bylaw perhaps give the Township
the upper hand in any negotiations about railway crossings?"
He claims the bylaw states that the Township won't have to pay, should the rail company decide to "construct, equip, maintain,
and operate its system over, along, across, or under any public highway and roads in the Township of Langley."
A century ago, the grade separation at County Line Road (264th Street) was built at full cost to the railway, de Raadt said, adding
that that provides precedent.
"Unless, of course, you intend to just give away your slingshot and your pebbles to those people, so that they can proceed with
the project to build a highway nobody wants and charge $10 million plus for doing that," he said.
Township councillors were provided with a 2005 legal opinion on rail issues. Brian Taylor, at the municipality's legal firm of Bull,
Housser and Tupper, said there appears to be nothing the Township can do to limit the CPR use of the rail line.
It was discussed in camera, then released in the regular meeting.
In 1950, BC Hydro, the successor to Vancouver Power, applied to discontinue the passenger service between New Westminster and
Chilliwack. As part of replacing the service with buses, the Public Utilities Commission ordered the company to pay $50,000 to both
Langley and Surrey and $40,000 to Matsqui, Sumas, and Chilliwack for road upgrades.
In the 1970s, the provincial minister of transport ordered that the line be upgraded, including signals at Glover Road until a grade
separation "could be effected."
In 1993, BC Hydro granted the CPR use of the line.
The law firm pointed out that the company and its successors have been running freight trains on the line and across Township roads
for many years without objection by the Township.
The Township could apply to the Canadian Transportation Agency to help determine who should pay and in what amounts for grade
separations, but there is little else the municipality can do to limit the rail company.
"There is nothing in the agreement that would enable the Township to eliminate or limit the CPR train traffic along the BC Hydro
RRW [right of way]," wrote Taylor.
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