A report stating SkyTrain and light-rail transit estimates were falsified could be good news for Richmond. The provincial Liberals released a report last week that was done by Vancouver consultant Alan Greer for the NDP two years ago.

Greer found SkyTrain estimates were lowered and LRT estimates were raised to make SkyTrain look like the preferred option.

LRT options of everything from platforms to cars were taken from the high end of price lists, Greer reported.

The actual cost of SkyTrain was reported to be only eight per cent higher than LRT, when previous reports stated SkyTrain was 60 per cent more expensive. Richmond Mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt said the result is that LRT costs may actually be lower and could make the system an option for the rapid transit route being planned between Richmond, Vancouver International Airport and downtown Vancouver. "Overhead-powered transit is much more viable in Richmond than underground power," Halsey-Brandt said.

"If what the report says is true and light rail is cheaper, then we could look at the technology for routes in Richmond."

He said tracks are cheaper to build than elevated cement pillars, but also noted that the start-up and operating costs of the LRT would be higher than a SkyTrain option.

Currently, the Richmond rapid transit plan is in the beginning planning strategies. By March 2, possible public or private partners will be looked at, and by April, Halsey-Brandt said the different types of technology and routes will be investigated. Richmond Centre MLA Doug Symons agreed that lower LRT costs could leave TransLink with more options but felt the report just means more delays for the Richmond rapid transit plans.

"The SkyTrain project may be put on hold because the government didn't look at the options in an objective way," he said. "It could mean that SkyTrain is going to eat up the budget or leave a huge expense to pay off."

Halsey-Brandt said the possibility of the SkyTrain project going over-budget is just a little too likely to be comfortable.

"I have very little confidence that (the NDP) has researched the budget," Halsey-Brandt said.

"The estimated cost for SkyTrain is $1.2 million and they say they're on budget, but they also said it would be open by now and it's not."

He said government funding is necessary for a third of the cost of the Richmond rapid-transit project.

"If the SkyTrain goes over-budget, it could affect the whole idea," the mayor said.