Vancouver SkyTrain Light Rail Network, Canada

The Vancouver SkyTrain is undergoing a major expansion programme, with construction of one new line in full swing and ground works due to start on another in September 2007. The first of these lines is due for completion ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games which are being hosted in Canada’s western city of Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink) is responsible for operation and development of a system which already has a network of two lines running 49.5km around the city centre serving 33 stations.

TransLink was created to give local people more control over local transport planning and funding, and it operates SkyTrain as a separate division. The city's population doubled from 800,000 to 1.6 million between 1961 and 1991, and is set to double again by 2021. The Skytrain network is being extended both physically and in terms of capacity to accommodate the growing level of passenger demand.

THE PROJECT

A fully-automated mini-metro, SkyTrain, linking Vancouver city with Burnaby and New Westminster, opened in January 1986 to coincide with the World Trade Fair. It was subsequently extended across the Fraser River to Surrey.

Apart from a 1.6km city centre section in tunnel, SkyTrain is largely on elevated sections to minimise conflict with roads.

The trains are normally operated fully automatically, and roving attendants with radios patrol trains and stations carry out ticket checks, and answer passengers' queries. A new extension, known as the Millennium Line, from Columbia station in New Westminster to Vancouver Community College opened in August 2001 circulating the Vancouver Metro area. The Millennium line shares the Expo route between Waterfront and Columbia stations.

The SkyTrain network is being extended by 30.5km with the construction of the Canada Line and the Evergreen Line. Construction of the 19.5km Canada Line is already underway, and due to open in 2009. The Evergreen Line was also due to open the same year, but this has been put back to 2011 to reduce the cost of building the route in a short timescale. Site work is due to start in September 2007.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Elevated concrete sections carry much of the track to avoid conflict with the road system. Work to increase capacity on the SkyTrain line east of Columbia station ready for future expansion began in May 1999, involving construction of a new turnout.

A section of existing track was removed and a new track slab formed, poured and allowed to cure before a pre-assembled track switch was installed and the previous track formation reinstated.

The Millennium line was completed in 2001 and runs for 21km, of which 17.5km is carried on an elevated guideway. This consists of segmental pre-cast reinforced concrete beams supported by columns cast in place about 37m apart.

Other sections run in a cutting shared with heavy rail trains and an 800m tunnel at New Westminster. New Westminster tunnel was built using a cut-and-cover technique. Instead of using a tunnel boring machine, this technique saw a large trench excavated by conventional means. A reinforced concrete box was built within the trench and the box was covered with dirt before the land above was restored to its original condition.

Each of the 13 stations was designed by some of Vancouver's most prominent architects, with input from an extensive public consultation process. The new line intersects with the existing line at two points, and the latest extension opened in January 2006. The short extension from Commercial (an interchange between the Millennium and Expo Lines) to VCC Clark Station has brought an end to construction work on the Millennium Line, with all stations fully open.

Now progress is being made on the new 19.5km Canada Line, which will serve 16 stations running on a north-south alignment from a connection with the Expo and Millennium lines in the Waterfront area to Vancouver International Airport and Richmond City Centre. The line consists of a mixture of bored tunnel and elevated running.

Tunnel boring machines are being used to build the tunnels. The TransLink Board has decided to delay the opening of the Evergreen Line until 2011. The change will allow a $107m reduction in the total project cost, although the final bill is expected to be $953m – $400m from TransLink, local funding of $170m, and a funding gap of $383m to be explored.

ROLLING STOCK

A total of 114 ART Mk I vehicles were initially delivered, later increased to 150, and a further 20 arrived in 2002. Vehicles carry 75 passengers and normally run in pairs at up to 80km/h (50mph).

Increases in the network coverage and rising passenger demand has led to further orders for new vehicles being place. In 1998, 60 ART Mk II vehicles were ordered from Bombardier Transportation and are now all in service. They are wider, and feature three larger doors on each car, plus climate control and easy access for wheelchairs and bicycles.

Another ART Mk II order was placed in November 2006, for 34 vehicles worth $99m and with an option for 72 more, a total value of $191m. They will provide additional capacity on the current network and will bring the fleet total to 244 – 150 ART Mk I and 94 ART Mk II cars. The new cars are being built by Bombardier’s production facilities at Sahagun, Mexico and Thunder Bay, Ontario, with delivery scheduled for the first half of 2009.

SIGNALLING/COMMUNICATIONS

The Seltrac automatic train control system is similar to that which governs operations on London's Docklands Light Railway. It uses a moving block system to allow maximum capacity and the capability of running services at very short headways. Data is carried along the trackside via inductive loop cable or radio antennae.

The trains use an Automatic Train Operation (ATO) system, which can be adapted for driverless use, although for security and passenger safety, a driver is usually on board. An alarm system is also fitted throughout the system to detect intrusions onto the tracks.

THE FUTURE

The first section of the Millennium Line through New Westminster opened in late 2001, and the section to Commercial Drive Station in August 2002.

Now two new lines form the main thrust of construction work – the Canada and Evergreen Lines. The Canada Line’s opening date is a year ahead of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver – and work is ongoing to bore out the tunnel sections and erect the substantial concrete elevated trackbed along the 19.5km alignment. The Evergreen Line is now due to open in 2011.

Also under consideration with a 2013 construction start is a westbound extension of the Millennium Line on the Broadway corridor and the central business district.

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