SkyTrain Mark I
SkyTrain Mark I

TransLink, the transit agency for Vancouver, B.C., continues to roll out the goods with the finalization of the route and opening of the Evergreen Line Project Office.

“The Evergreen Line will vastly improve transit options for people in Metro Vancouver’s northeast quadrant,” said Falcon. “It will also be a big boost to the region’s economy, providing over 8,000 direct and indirect jobs.”

“The Evergreen Sky Train extension will improve the quality of life of Tri-City residents by creating more transportation choices, cutting traffic, and by reducing pollution,” said Moore. “Our government is proud to be a partner in this project.”

Using SkyTrain technology, the 11-kilometre Evergreen Line will link neighbourhoods in Burnaby, Port Moody and Coquitlam and be fully integrated into the existing system, connecting directly onto the Millennium Line at Lougheed Station.

The Evergreen Line will start construction after the 2010 Olympics with opening service in 2014. The Evergreen Line will connect seamlessly to SkyTrain and the Canada Line at the Waterfront terminal, connecting also with SeaBus, West Coast Express, VIA Rail, and Amtrak trains. During peak rush hour, trains will be running every 85 seconds. Currently, SkyTrain runs around 108 seconds during peak hour. SkyTrain has the ability to run as close as 68 seconds a train, according to this video of SkyTrain.

Bombardier Flexity Outlook

Meanwhile, for the 2010 Olympics, Vancouver BC and Bombardier have joined forces to run a demonstration Streetcar line for 1.8km from Granville Island to the Olympic Villiage Canada Line station. Bombardier will provide 2 Flexity Outlook trams from Brussels, Belgium and will run every 6 to 10 minutes along the route and will be free during its trials. The streetcar route may become a full route which would run from Granville Island to Stanley Park with several stations along the route, including a station at Waterfront. The streetcar will open in January 21, 2010 and service will end on March 21, 2010.

24 Replies to “TransLink Announces Evergreen Line and Demo Streetcar”

  1. I could get behind the Seattle streetcar system if they were to run trains like that in their own lanes or medians. That long a train is actually an upgrade in capacity, rather than the Slut and the Portland streetcars which have similar carrying capacities as the articulated trolley buses Metro uses.

    1. Bombardier is actually pushing it for Toronto as well, that contract is so lucrative, that some bidders sued to get a crack at it, after the TTC wrote the rules to not just say Buy Canada, but also buy Ontario, the only company with a plant in Ontario that met that spec? Bombardier, with it’s Thunder Bay plant. Although they propose to put their legacy streetcar routes in median right of way, some of the Red Rockets still operate in mixed traffic, and this would be an improvement over the CLRV and ALRVs, which replaced the PCC.

      2. I know. I monitor some podcasts of various Canadian media sources, CBC, CanWest Global, and CityNews(out of Toronto), and it was the NDP and Liberals both pressing the Tories. Although in the case of politics of rail, the PM does not have a leg to stand on(He is from Calgary). I do not know if the Siemens LRVs that Calgary Transit uses are built in Canada or not. They might be built in Sacramento. The funniest argument now is over a slush fund for stimulus projects, he wants $3 Billion to spend on projects, and daring the opposition to vote no. In Canada, budget motions are confidence motions. He only has 144 votes, needs 11 more, that means he needs one of the three other parties to support it. The most likely outcome of losing the budget motion, they go to the polls, and I don’t mean opinion polls. Our politics can be political theater, Canada, Australia, and Britain makes our guys look like amatuers. Also, as we seem to get with trade agreements, it’s always one way.

      3. I might have exagerated a little, I thought I heard of a made in Ontario rule, but it looks like just made in Canada with at least 25% Canadian Content. Still, a little on the protectionist side. Ontario Government and TTC procurement has had some interesting past instances. It was a crown corporation of the Province that built these cars, and the Province later sold it to Bombardier.

        http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2008/01/22/ttc-contract.html

        The LINK LRVs were pre-fabed in Japan but assembled here. I am not sure what the deal with Siemens in Sacramento, but I think they do full assembly there, they just expanded the plant.

      4. I wonder if BC will do the same with the Double Decker buses that Victoria and Kelowna are using, and Vancouver is considering trying out? If more are ordered, have them built in Canada. Alexander Dennis is contracting with an American Company to handle orders from US Systems.

    2. The current Seattle and Portland trams will carry more people than the articulated trolley buses. The trams are much more comfortable when nearly full than any bus I’ve ever been on as well.

      Inekon has a 5 segment tram which is a longer version of the Seattle and Portland trams.

      1. And Seattle has the capacity to increase platform length as well.

        Portland does as well, I think.

      2. Yeah, pretty much all of the regions Streetcars can be longer, either to MU the streetcars together or for longer vehicles. The 10T’s can add several more “modules” which makes them such a popular model. I think the stopping point would be the maintenance facility(s).

  2. Construction will start after 2010 and service will open in 2014? How do they build these things so damn fast? Makes Sound Transit look like a slug.

    I guess they’re not digging any holes, which would definitely help, but under 4 years for construction and testing? Sound Transit can learn a thing or two.

    1. There’s no tunneling for starters, they do everything cut-and-cover, which is way faster buy way more disruptive, and doesn’t work well for cutting through or under hills. Link only began construction in 2003, and most of ST2 will have six or seven year construction times, so the construction time isn’t as big as it seems.

      I guess this means that the Canadians don’t have as strict testing requirements?

    2. They also had disagreements over what was going to be built. First it was going to be another Skytrain line, then conventional Light Rail, and now it is SkyTrain again. Also, meddling from Victoria even though Translink is supposedly autonomous from BC Transit did not help much either. Although since the MLAs in Victoria, many of them are from the Greater Vancouver Area, it’s easy for meddling to occur, and it’s an election year. COming up in May. The Olympics also helped to get the Canada Line built, just like the University extension of Salt Lake City’s TRAX line for the Salt Lake City Games.

  3. “Skytrain Technology” has changed. These new extensions don’t utilize the old linear induction motors, correct? The only reason I ask: technology nuts and monorailians used to always cite linear induction as a key feature to separate SkyTrain from light rail. From what I can tell, this innovation has been abandoned for more traditional technology.

    1. The Canada Line uses a vehicle built by a different company, but the LIM in SkyTrain is proprietary technology of Bombardier. If it’s true that Bombardier would not license the LIM to Rotem, it spells doom for another revolutionary technology, Bombardier’s PriMove technology. Takes away the bidding competition.

      1. I suspect there are reasons beyond being proprietary that LIM hasn’t exactly set the transit world on fire.

        TTC supposedly isn’t terribly happy with their line and a combination of politics and money is all that keeps them from replacing their line with more conventional technology.

        Contrast this with rubber tire metros which while unusual can be found in a number of places other than Paris.

      2. Correct,

        Bombardier built the Mark II vehicles for SkyTrain (and will be building the cars for the Evergreen Line)

        Rotem built the cars for the Canada Line. They would be capable with SkyTrain however the cars (Canada Line) are wider than SkyTrain vehicles are.

    2. I thought the difference between Skytrain and light rail (ALRT and LRT) had more to do with the grade separation and automation than with the motor technology. Skytrain is grade separated, doesn’t need drivers, can use lighter cars and provides more frequent service than LRT.

  4. its interesting how every major city in the pacific northwest will have a “modern streetcar” line by 2010 and yet outside of the pacific northwest there isnt one operating “modern streetcar” line… DC bought the cars which are still sitting in the czech and charlotte is laying some pieces of track now but despite this it wont be operational for about a decade. other than that all the operating systems are portland, tacoma, seattle and now vancouver

    1. If you’re referring to the Charlotte LYNX Blue Line, it’s up and running revenue service

  6. i think they were for the anacostia line which apparently wasnt completely owned by the railroad that they were going to buy the route from. i guess they were far enough in design to order cars though.

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