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2 Rolling stock 3 Organizational history 4 Expo Line 5 Millennium Line 6 Future lines 7 External links |
The Expo Line (coloured blue on route maps) opened in late 1985 and the Millennium Line (yellow) in 2002. The two lines follow a common route between Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver and Columbia Station in New Westminster, serving the cities of Vancouver, Burnaby and New Westminster en route. From Columbia, Expo Line trains continue through Surrey to King George Station, while Millennium Line trains loop back through Burnaby and Vancouver to Commercial Drive Station, adjacent to Broadway Station on the common Expo/Millennium Line.
Originally, the Expo Line used 40-foot (12-metre) lightweight cars, similar to the ones used in Toronto's Scarborough RT. For the Millennium Line, new 60-foot (18-metre) cars were built by Bombardier, similar to the cars used in Kuala Lumpur's Putra LRT. Each pair of cars (either 2 old cars or 2 new cars) is permanently joined together in a 2-car trainset. Both old and new cars run on both lines. Two trainsets are almost always joined together to form a 4-car train, but old trainsets are never coupled with new trainsets. 2-car trains occasionally run during periods of low passenger volume (late at night, for example), while 6-car trains are possible at times of peak capacity (for example, when many people are going home from a special event in downtown Vancouver).
Until 1999, the British Columbia Rapid Transit Company owned and operated SkyTrain on behalf of the Vancouver Regional Transit System, which had overall responsibility for public transportation in the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) in affiliation with a separate organization, BC Transit. In 1999, the GVRD's new transportation agency TransLink took over SkyTrain.
The original Expo Line was built in the mid 1980s under the auspices of the Urban Transit Development Corporation. A demonstration section opened in 1983, with one train running along a single track for roughly 1 km east of Main Street (now Main Street-Science World) Station.
The Expo Line, named after Expo 86, opened for free weekend service in late 1985, connecting Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver to New Westminster Station in New Westminster. Full service began on 3 January 1986.
During Expo 86, special shuttle trains ran from a third track at Stadium Station (where there was a connection to the monorail serving the main site of the world's fair) to the Canadian pavilion at Waterfront Station.
In 1989, the line was extended to Columbia Station, then in 1990 to Scott Road in Surrey, crossing the Fraser River via the purpose-built, cable-stayed "SkyBridge." Finally, in 1994, the line was extended to its current terminus at King George Station.
The Expo Line travels underground from Waterfront to Stadium Stations, mainly through a tunnel previously used by the Canadian Pacific Railway to connect its mainline tracks along Burrard Inlet to its former yard on False Creek. From Stadium to New Westminster, the line is elevated, except for short at-grade sections between Nanaimo and Joyce Stations in east Vancouver and around the SkyTrain yards at Edmonds Station in Burnaby. The line travels underground for a short stretch between New Westminster and Columbia Stations, then is elevated once again for the run to its termius at King George. From just west of Nanaimo Station all the way to New Westminster station, the Expo Line follows BC Electric's former Central Park Line, which carried interurbans between Vancouver and New Westminster from 1890 to the early 1950s.
When the Expo Line opened in 1986, an extension to Lougheed Mall in east Burnaby was proposed. When the line was extended to Scott Road Station in 1990, a spur track was built just east of Columbia Station in anticipation of such an extension. Finally in the late 1990s, the British Columbia government announced that an entirely new line would be built from Vancouver to Columbia Station via Lougheed Mall (served by Lougheed Town Centre Station), as the first part of a future line extending into Coquitlam.
The Millennium Line opened in 2002, with Lake City Way Station opening a year later in 2003. Millennium Line trains follow the Expo Line from Waterfront to Columbia, then loop back into Vancouver via a new route, terminating at Commercial Drive station, where there is a connection to Broadway Station on the Expo Line. (For a few months before full opening of the line, trains ran only as far as Braid Station in eastern New Westminster.) Construction is currently underway to extend the Millennium Line westward from Commercial Drive to VCC [Vancouver Community College] Station in Vancouver, with the extension due to open in 2005.
The Millennium Line tracks pass through a tunnel for about 1 km east of Columbia Station, then are elevated above the CN/BNSF right-of-way through eastern New Westminster. From Lougheed Town Centre, the line is elevated, running down the middle or along the side of Lougheed Highway to just west of Brentwood Town Centre, where it picks up the CN/BNSF right-of-way again, being elevated until Renfrew Station, then travelling through a ground-level cut to Commercial Drive.
From Waterfront to Columbia, the Millennium Line follows and stops at the same stations as the Expo Line.
An extension of the Millennium Line to from Lougheed Town Centre Station to Coquitlam Town Centre was proposed when the original Millennium Line was built, and the necessary junction tracks already exist at Lougheed Town Centre Station. If the line is successfully extended, the Millennium Line will likely stop operating along the Waterfront-Columbia section of the Expo Line, with the Columbia-Lougheed Town Centre section becoming a branch of either the Expo or Millennium Line.
West of Commercial Drive, an extension to VCC Station is already under construction and is due to open in 2005. A long-term proposal exists to extend the line further west through the Mount Pleasant and Fairview neighbourhoods in Vancouver south of False Creek, serving the commercial and hospital area along central Broadway.
The "RAV Line" is a proposed new line to connect downtown Vancouver to theVancouver International Airport and Richmond in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The line's Vancouver section is likely to run through a tunnel under much of Cambie Street, with the line splitting into airport and Richmond branches after crossing the Fraser River. Details of the line's funding and Richmond routing have not yet been finalized.
Brief description
Rolling stock
Organizational history
Expo Line
History
Route description
List of stations
Millennium Line
History
Route description
List of stations
Future lines
Millennium Line extensions
Richmond-Airport-Vancouver Line
External links