SkyTrain

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SkyTrain is wheelchair accessible.
SkyTrain is a bike rack route.
SkyTrain Logo-a.png
Service Commenced December 11, 1985
Number of Lines 3
Operator British Columbia Rapid Transit Company (Expo/Millennium Lines)
ProTransBC (Canada Line)
Number of Stations 53
Cities Serviced Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey, Richmond, Port Moody, Coquitlam
Fleet 298 cars
Line Length 79.5 km (49.4 mi)
Track Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Electrification Third rail
(650V DC for Expo/Millennium Lines)
(750V DC for Canada Line)
Operating Speed 80 km/h (50 mph)

The SkyTrain is a light rail rapid transit system serving Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. The system runs mainly on elevated track and is fully automated. Stations are monitored by attendants.

The Expo Line and Millennium Line are operated by the British Columbia Rapid Transit Company, a TransLink operating company. The Canada Line is operated by Protrans BC, a private company, and is operationally separate from the other lines.

History

By the 1970s, traffic congestion had become a problem in Vancouver and rapid transit was increasingly seen as a solution. By the end of the 1970s, the Urban Transportation Development Corporation (UTDC), an Ontario crown coporation, was perfecting its Intermediate Capacity Transit System (ICTS). It was designed to be lighter and smaller (and therefore cheaper to build and run) than a full-fledged heavy-rail subway, but capable of higher capacities and shorter headways than a streetcar line. On May 29, 1981, signed a contract with UTDC for an ICTS system.

A short, 1 km section of track/guidway and a station (Main Street) were built and operated in the summer of 1983 as an early demonstration of the ICTS system. This was later integrated into a 15-station line (Waterfront to New Westminster) that was a showpiece for Expo '86. The line opened in with a soft launch on December 11, with full revenue service commencing on January 3, 1986. It was extended a short distance in 1989 further into New Westminster with a new station at Columbia - and extended again across the Fraser River to Scott Road in 1990. The line was extended further with three new stations into Surrey to King George, its present eastern terminus, in 1994.

In 1995, Premier Mike Harcourt announced that a street-level light rail line would be built along Broadway and Lougheed Highway to Coquitlam Centre. Not long into the plan's study, the government announced that the line would become an ICTS line that ran between Broadway Station and Lougheed Mall.[1] The line shares its route with the Expo Line to Columbia Station, where it diverges north and then turns back west. Called the Millennium Line, it opened in phases with the first phase on January 7, 2002 (Waterfront to Braid) and second phase on August 31 of that year (Braid to Commercial Drive). A short extension to its current terminus at VCC-Clark opened on January 6, 2006.[2] The fleet was expanded with next-generation ICTS, know known as Advanced Rapid Transit (ART), vehicles.

A SkyTrain line to the airport, that also served Richmond, was announced by BC Transit Minister Joy McPhail in 1998. He suggested that the new line could be part of a bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It was decided in 2005 to build the line through a public-private partnership. InTransitBC, a consortium headed by SNC-Lavalin, was awarded the contract on July 29, 2005 to design, build, and operate the line. Initially referred to as the R.A.V Line (Richmond-Airport-Vancouver) and later-named the Canada Line, it opened on August 17, 2009 ahead of schedule and ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Unlike the rest of the SkyTrain network, the Canada Line does not use ICTS/ART technology. This was stipulated in the request for proposals so as to not give Bombardier an advantage.

In mid-2013, construction began on the next extension of the Millennium Line. Referred to as the Evergreen Line from the very first plans of the new route, it is now referred to as a mere extension of the existing Millennium Line. When this route opens on December 2nd, 2016 it will add a new station in North-East Burnaby, a new station in Port Moody, and four new stations in the city of Coquitlam to the Millennium Line.

October 2016 saw an entire re-alignment of the system. To prepare for the opening of the Evergreen Extension, a branch to Production Way was added to the Expo Line, which caused Sapperton and Braid to re-brand as Expo Line Stations. In addition, Lougheed and Production Way became dual-branded as Expo and Millennium Line stations. The other big change was on the Millennium line, which was short-turned at Lougheed from VCC-Clark - No more Millennium Line trains ran between Waterfront and Lougheed. Because of this, stations Waterfront thru Columbia (excluding Commercial-Broadway) were branded as solely Expo Line Stations for the first time since 2001. This was necessary since it was proven too difficult to have a simultaneous pattern of both Evergreen and Millennium Line trains on the existing Millennium line branch between Lougheed and VCC-Clark. Limited resources and increased demand for the Expo Line branches were additional factors of the re-alignment.

The re-alignment also had an effect on train lengths. It is now uncommon to see a 4-car Mark 1 set and for the first time since before the Olympics, 2-car Mark IIs serve the Millennium Line branch. In addition, the newly ordered Mark IIIs and older Mark Is are strictly allocated to the Expo Line, making Mark IIs the most widespread fleet in the entire system.

Lines

Expo Line Logo and Symbol-a.png

Millennium Line Logo and Symbol-a.png Millennium Line Evergreen Extension Logo-c.png

Canada Line Logo and Symbol-a.png

Train Yards

Rolling Stock

Active

Expo and Millennium lines

Fleet number(s) Thumbnail Year Manufacturer Model A/C? Notes
001-056 SkyTrain UTDC 028-a.jpg 1984 UTDC ICTS MK I No
  • Introduced for the original phase of Expo line.
  • Feature manual windshield wipers
061-118 SkyTrain UTDC 067-a.jpg 1985 UTDC ICTS MK I No
  • Introduced for the original phase of Expo line.
  • Feature manual winshield wipers
121-136 SkyTrain UTDC 124-a.jpg 1991 UTDC ICTS MK I No
  • Introduced for the second phase of Expo line.
137-156 SkyTrain UTDC 138-a.jpg 1995 UTDC ICTS MK I No
  • Introduced for the third phase of Expo line.
201-260 SkyTrain Bombardier 218-a.jpg 2001-2002 Bombardier ART MK II Yes
  • Introduced for the Millennium line.
301-348 SkyTrain Bombardier 306-a.jpg 2009-2010 Bombardier ART MK II Yes
  • These cars were introduced in time for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games.
  • Feature current Translink livery and interior (includes new seating, LED map, CCTV cameras)[3]
401-428 Skytrain Bombardier 404-a.jpg 2015-2016 Bombardier INNOVIA Metro 300 MK III Yes
  • 4-cars long, open gangways
  • Purchased for Evergreen Line extension
  • Feature a bike section on the end cars.
  • Entered service August 18th, 2016.

Canada Line

Fleet number(s) Thumbnail Year Manufacturer Model A/C? Notes
101/201-120/220 SkyTrain Hyundai Rotem 111-a.jpg 2009 Hyundai-Rotem LRV Yes
  • Used exclusively on Canada Line
  • Uses conventional rotary motors instead of linear motors
  • Wider structure gauge

On Order

Expo and Millennium lines

Fleet number(s) Thumbnail Year Manufacturer Motor Notes
429-456 2018-2019 Bombardier INNOVIA Metro 300 MK III
  • On order from funding that was put in place June 15, 2016.

References

  1. "TransLink History Nov 2008". TransLink. November 20, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  2. History of SkyTrain. Retrieved May 13, 2016.
  3. Pabillano, Jhenifer. "Improved interiors for the new SkyTrain cars!" The Buzzer blog. Translink. 6 May 2009. Web. Retrieved on 04 February 2013.
v·d·e
SkyTrain Logo-a.png
Operations
Lines Canada Line Logo-a.png Expo Line Logo-a.png Millennium Line Logo-a.png Millennium Line Evergreen Extension Logo-b.png
Rolling stock Expo Line 1984 UTDC ICTS Mark IExpo Line 1985 UTDC ICTS Mark IExpo Line 1991 UTDC ICTS Mark IExpo Line 1995 Bombardier ICTS Mark IExpo LineMillennium Line 2001 Bombardier ART Mark IICanada Line 2008 Hyundai Rotem EMUExpo Line 2009 Bombardier ART Mark IIExpo Line 2015 Bombardier Innovia Metro Mark IIIExpo Line 2018 Bombardier Innovia Metro Mark IIICanada Line 2019 Hyundai Rotem EMU
Yards Expo LineMillennium Line Operations and Maintenance CentreMillennium Line Coquitlam Maintenance CentreCanada Line Canada Line Operations and Maintenance Centre
Stations
Canada Line Logo-a.png Expo LineSeaBusTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.pngR5 Hastings St WaterfrontVancouver City CentreYaletown–RoundhouseOlympic Village99 B-Line Broadway–City HallKing EdwardR4 41st Ave Oakridge–41st AvenueLangara–49th AvenueMarine DriveCanada Line BridgeportCapstan WayAberdeenLansdowneRichmond–Brighouse
Airport branch ← Towards Waterfront Canada Line BridgeportTempletonSea Island CentreYVR–Airport
Expo Line Logo-a.png Canada LineSeaBusTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.pngR5 Hastings St WaterfrontR5 Hastings St BurrardGranvilleStadium–ChinatownMain Street–Science WorldMillennium Line99 B-Line Commercial–BroadwayNanaimo29th AvenueR4 41st Ave Joyce–CollingwoodPattersonMetrotownRoyal OakEdmonds22nd StreetNew WestminsterExpo Line ColumbiaR6 Scott Rd Scott RoadGatewayR1 King George Blvd Surrey CentralR1 King George Blvd King George
Production Way branch ← Towards Waterfront Expo Line ColumbiaSappertonBraidMillennium Line Lougheed Town CentreMillennium Line Production Way–University
Millennium Line Logo-a.png ArbutusSouth GranvilleOak–VGHCanada Line99 B-Line Broadway–City HallMount PleasantGreat Northern Way–Emily CarrVCC–ClarkExpo Line99 B-Line Commercial–BroadwayRenfrewRupertGilmoreBrentwood Town CentreHoldomSperling–Burnaby LakeLake City WayExpo Line Production Way–UniversityExpo Line Lougheed Town CentreBurquitlamTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.png Moody CentreInlet CentreTransLink West Coast Express bullet-a.pngR3 Lougheed Hwy Coquitlam CentralLincolnLafarge Lake–Douglas