For their final group project in December 2020, published on the university’s blogs website, the UBC Geography students dived into the topographical and terrain feasibility, with one route option, as envisioned by MVX, following the Sea to Sky Highway. This option could take advantage of the existing railway right-of-way, even though it “may not be able to accommodate the highest speeds from West Vancouver to Squamish due to the winding nature of the rail.”
Following the highway corridor could potentially carry a lower construction cost and shorter construction timeline as “less modifications would have to be made to the landscape in order to make the route suitable for a higher speed commuter train.” The segment of the route between Horseshoe Bay and Squamish would carry slower speeds, while overall travel times could be reduced with higher speeds in the segments from Squamish to Whistler and Chilliwack to Vancouver.