The Island Corridor Foundation released the results of a recent survey they conducted to collect valuable input from the residents of Vancouver Island regarding rail service on Vancouver Island. Information gathered reinforces the vital importance of the rail corridor as a part of our transportation infrastructure.
While support is strongest in the two major population centres, Victoria and Nanaimo, there is a high level of support across the Island for the restoration of rail service. Overall, 80% of survey respondents believe that Federal and Provincial governments should fund a modern and revitalized rail system for Vancouver Island and 81% of respondents believe rail should receive a subsidy to support ongoing operations.
Larry Stevenson, CEO of the Island Corridor Foundation said, “We appreciate the time Islanders took to provide their views on the restoration of rail service. The tremendous response underscores the importance of this issue for our communities. The results should leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that the people of Vancouver Island want to see rail service restored.”
Leonard Krog, Mayor of Nanaimo, agrees, “The people of Vancouver Island have spoken loud and clear. They want the Province to get on board with all of us who want our railway restored.”
Survey Results can be found here.
The survey was contracted to a third-party contractor, Webstation Global Systems Inc. and ran from September 18, 2020 to September 26, 2020. It received 3533 responses, and of those 2979 responses gave a valid postal code for Vancouver Island regions adjacent to the rail corridor. Those responses have been used to formulate the results.
For more information:
Larry Stevenson
CEO | Island Corridor Foundation
larrystevenson@islandrail.ca
or
Andrea Thomas
Manager, Corridor Development
andreathomas@islandrail.ca
The Island Corridor Foundation is a non-profit society and federally registered charity established for the purposes of owning and managing the rail corridor on Vancouver Island.
